


Have You Met The Tealeafs

by drekkeri



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Calebs a barista and molly works at Lush, M/M, Modern AU, Molly and Lucien are identical twins, Retail AU, not rated rn but I'll rate it later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-13 00:16:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 23,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14738499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drekkeri/pseuds/drekkeri
Summary: Caleb didn't know what to make of Tealeaf. On one hand he was charming, gorgeous, and even with his nonstop flirting he could brighten up Caleb's worst mornings. But on the other hand- he could be the most insufferable person Caleb had ever met.-----A completely self indulgent modern AU where Caleb's an exhausted Barista. Molly works at Lush, his identical twin Lucien works at Sephora, and it took Caleb awhile to realize they're two separate people.





	1. Chapter 1

Working in customer service was, in short, a living hell.

  
Between incompetent coworkers, a manager who only showed up once a month, and the ridiculous drinks customers managed to come up with, Caleb was shocked he hadn't gone gray from stress.

  
So when he got a moment to himself, he treasured it.

  
The Starbucks in the large mall wasn't empty, Caleb could never be that fortunate. But the customers in the store already had their orders and were hidden in the corner, talking amoung themselves without bothering Caleb. With his coworker, Harris, on break Caleb was able to putter around the counter. In between cleaning the machines he was even able to steal himself a drink since no one was around to stop him.

  
It was the closest he'd been to relaxed since starting here.

  
But of course, the feeling couldn't last long. He was sipping his drink, chewing at the straw absently, when he glanced at the clock on the well. Fuck.

  
He quickly stowed the drink away, hiding it somewhere he could grab it from later. It was tucked away just in time for perhaps his most obnoxiously ostentatious customer to walk in like clockwork. Same time, same shit, as always.

  
A tall man sauntered in, dark purple curls falling around his face. He came through the Starbucks every day. Caleb assumed he had to be coming through on his way to work, most people needed the caffeine boost before handling customers. The man draped himself over the counter, resting his chin on his nails. The way he stood showed off the top of his chest since he hadn't bothered to fully button the too tight black shirt, and he was raising his hips in a way that made Caleb take a few moments to steady himself and hide his blush.

  
This man was going to be the death of Caleb, he was an enigma. Caleb didn't even know his real name, just the surname. _Tealeaf._ He always used the name for his orders so it was all he had to work with.

  
"Good morning, darling." Tealeaf said, tapping his nails against his chin. "Fancy seeing you here."

  
"I am here every day." Caleb said simply enough.

  
"Not _every_ day, you weren't here yesterday." he said with a faux pout.

  
"I did have the day off yesterday, yes. But that is incredibly rare." As Caleb spoke he reached over and grabbed a venti cup, scribbling the name Tealeaf across it. Even though he changed the order every time, the one thing Caleb could count on was that it would be big.

  
"Well- I'm still heartbroken you didn't tell me. Your coworkers alright- but none of them are anything compared to you."

  
Caleb sighed. "I was unaware I had to update you whenever I took a day off."

  
"I can't say you _have_ too, but I wouldn't be opposed." He rhythmically rapped his nails against the counter, bright eyes following Caleb. "And I'll take an Ultimate Caramel Frappuchino- shot of espresso. As much caffeine and sugar as you can physically cram into one cup. I have a long day ahead of me."

  
"Of course." Caleb scribbled the order onto the cup and got to work. It was a bit pointless since he was making it himself, but he was a creature of habit. As he walked around to make the drink Tealeaf followed, keeping a close eye on him. Should he... keep talking? Is that what's expected of him? "What is the long day?" he tried.

  
Apparently that was the right thing to say because Tealeaf started talking right away. "We just finished moving stores. We're reopening to the public after two weeks so I'm expecting a crowd." he explained, waving his hands a lot as he spoke. It was almost musical, a definite rhythm to his movements. He dragged one hand through his curls and they all somehow bounced right back into place. "All we did was move a floor down- but it's a lot bigger. Certainly nice to be less crowded." he added on, leaning to meet Caleb's eyes with a wicked grin. "Maybe you can visit sometime."

  
Honestly, Caleb might of considered the offer. But there was one thing standing in his way that made visiting an impossibility.

  
Caleb had no idea where Tealeaf worked.

  
No matter how many times he came in, Caleb couldn't pin it down. He'd narrowed it down to a few options, and by now it was a tie between Sephora and LUSH. Caleb had noticed employee's from both stores had the same black clothing Tealeaf always sported. Occasionally they would also be decorated with piercings or brightly colored leggings, like Tealeaf wore often, but it wasn't enough for him to cross either store off the list. Oh- and employee's from both stores were always completely and unfairly gorgeous. Yet another box Tealeaf undeniable checked.

  
Caleb finished making the drink, pressing the lid into place and passing it into Tealeaf's hands. He took it, reaching for a straw without looking away from Caleb.

  
"So?" Tealeaf asked, taking a long sip. Caleb watched him too intently, eyes drawn from his bright eyes down to his cheeks and lips-

  
"Oh- yes. Sure." Caleb agreed quickly, trying to stop going down the rabbit hole.

  
Tealeaf lit up, standing up straight with a push from the counter. "Perfect! I can't wait!" You'll love it there, I promise." he said happily, glancing at his watch and cursing. "Okay- I need to go because Yasha will have my _head_ if I'm late again. But I'm holding you to that promise! You better visit!" he called out. Most of it was yelled over his shoulder as he ran out of the store to sprint towards work.

  
As soon as he was out of sight Caleb sighed, running a hand through his bangs.

  
Gods.

  
Tealeaf was, without a doubt, the single most confusing person Caleb had ever met. On one hand, he could be incredibly charming and beautiful in his flirting. He no doubt flirted with everyone- Caleb wasn't special- but the attention was nice. Most customers treated Caleb like a coffee making robot, but when Tealeaf focused in on him and started flirting he had no doubt he was viewed as a person. In the mornings Tealeaf seemed to enjoy asking questions about his life. He was always poking for details about one thing or another, curiosity nearing intrusiveness. His smile also managed to brighten the mornings, making Caleb's heart tighten in ways he didn't like to think too hard about.

  
But then, on the other hand.

  
Sometimes, Tealeaf was the most insufferable person Caleb had ever met.

  
Tealeaf's constant 'in your face' energy could be insufferable in it's own way, yes. But later in the day was a different story entirely. It was always his second visit when things changed, just before or just after the lunch rush took over the store. So maybe it was that work really ruined his mood? Or maybe when he was awake enough he realized Caleb wasn't worth the effort of flirting. But no matter the reason- he was an asshole.

  
As every day before this, it followed the same pattern. After the lunch rush finally settled down Tealeaf walked in again, a purpose in his stride.

  
Tealeaf had a full face of makeup on this time- he normally did in the afternoon. And it was honestly unfair that he looked so good in it. Dark black lipstick and golden-black eye makeup really should not be allowed to look that good. Tealeaf always had the kind of face that made people do double-takes, and the full face only accentuated that.

  
"Venti Double Shot on Ice. Remember- it's a Venti. So this time I actually want the extra espresso I'm paying for." he said flatly, not looking up from his phone.

  
All Caleb gave him was a small grunt in acknowledgement.

  
"What was that?" Tealeaf said quickly, looking right at him.

  
"That will be up right away." Caleb said, passing the cup off to one of the coworkers to actually brew as he pretended to check on the pastries.

  
Caleb had 'forgotten' to give Tealeaf the extra gallon of espresso he ordered every afternoon exactly once. And he hadn't even forgotten it. Tealeaf had ordered the ridiculously caffeinated that morning, yawning complaints about how his asshole roommate kept him up all night and he needed all the energy he could get. So when he ordered the same drink not two hours later Caleb decided to cut down the caffeine. The last thing he wanted was a heart attack on his hands. He figured it wouldn't even be noticeable. But _noooo._ Apparently trying to keep a customer from dying on the floor of the cafe was the wrong decision.

  
As he hid behind the pastries Tealeaf lurked right by the counter, making Caleb feel incredibly uncomfortable. He twitched, glancing at him. "So- um. How is the move going?"he asked weakly. Maybe Tealeaf really did just get aggravated by work and some sympathy would help? It wasn't impossible.

  
Tealeaf looked up from his phone again, raising an eyebrow. He looked at Caleb like he was talking in riddles, or as though he suddenly switched to Yddish instead of English. This lasted a few horrible moments before Tealeaf shook his head and grabbed his drink, exiting the store.

  
That could of gone better.

  
Caleb sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. There wasn't much time for him to stew on what a disaster that interaction was before group after group of teenagers crowded in, all of them with an order more complicated than the last. Him and Harris ended up springing around the store, tossing cups from one end of the counter to the other. They knew how to handle the crowds by now, so it wasn't impossible. But that didn't make it any fun. Especially when an old woman spent ten minutes arguing with him about a coupon older than him.

  
But eventually, most of the teens were gone. The old woman left as well after cussing Caleb out in honestly creative ways. Caleb physically drooped across the register, trying to regain some of his energy. He could breathe now but who knew how long this peace would last.

  
"Caleb? Are you all right?" A small voice asked from below him.

  
With a groan Caleb slowly lifted his head, holding part of his hair in his fist. "What?" he asked, looking down and seeing Nott. He really had to look down due to her height, just under five feet. Her long black-green hair fell absolutely everywhere as though she had never seen a brush in her life. It was a total mess, and he wouldn't want her any other way. She was more than his roommate, she was family.

  
"I just asked if you're alright." she repeated, pushing onto her toes to see him better.

  
"Oh- yes. Of course. I am perfectly fine. Just tired- very tired." he said with a dry smile. "But what else is new?"

  
Nott gave him a worried look, playing with one of her many rings. "Can I get you anything? I can pick something up and be back lickety split."

  
"I promise- I'm fine. This shift will be over soon enough." Caleb shook his head.

  
"If you're sure." she said. She looked around, not seeing any managers or customers that would rat them out, and dragged a stool over. She hopped on top, swinging her legs through the air. The height difference could really hurt her neck over time. "But so- how was today? Anything interesting?"

  
"Does a man crying over whipped cream count as interesting?"

  
"Not really? That happened last week as well." Nott said, getting a laugh out of Caleb. Customers really were weird. She clicked her tongue. "Did the pretty boy come in again?" she asked. Caleb blushed lightly. He hadn't been the one to give Tealeaf the nickname, but after hearing Caleb describe him and seeing him in person a few times Nott decided he was worthy of the nickname. "So that's a yes. Was it as weird and two faced as before?"

  
Caleb sighed, nodding. "Yes, indeed. I truly do not know what to make of him? He made me promise to visit him at work- then looks at me as though I'm a fool when he comes by later."

  
"That's definitely strange." Nott agreed. "I know! Maybe he's cursed? Cursed to have a different outlook every time you see him?" she said dramatically, grinning as Caleb started laughing.

  
"Something tells me that is not the case, but I suppose you never know." he joked, reaching over to pull her close and ruffle her hair. She laughed happily, weakly pushing his hands away. "He could be cursed by some ancient witch. The ridiculous caramel coffee's activate the curse and bring the asshole version of himself to the surface." he continued, getting her to laugh harder.

  
"Maybe the only way to break his curse is to make a barista cry? So he's trying to break you! You can't let him win! You have to stay strong, Caleb!"

  
Caleb nodded, wiping his eyes as his laughter finally started to die down. He grabbed his entirely melted drink and sipped it some, resting up against the pastry case. "I promise I'll stay strong, for you if nothing else. I won't cry over coffee."

  
"Good." she nodded firmly, still absolutely beaming. Kicking her legs she grabbed a straw, discarding the paper and chewing on it.

  
"You know- I could get you something to actually drink."

  
"No, this is fine. I like it." She said contentedly, continuing to gnaw at the end. Her teeth were all sharp and a bit jagged and undeniably Nott. Some people gave her odd looks, but the children absolutely loved it. Every kid in the mall adored Nott. She was hilarious, kind, and just a bit terrifying. What more could they ask for?

  
As they spoke and laughed the bell at the door rang softly. Caleb elected to ignore it, just this once. Harris was on yet another break, which in itself wasn't a problem but gods Caleb really wanted to enjoy the last minute of peace as he downed the remnants of his drink. It was the simple pleasures in life.

  
"I need three of the sugar cookies- now. And I'm in a rush."

  
So much for enjoying the last of his minute.

  
Clearly tired, both from work and not sleeping the night before, Caleb took a moment to process and look up at the customer calling over from the register. It was Tealeaf- because of course it was. His lips were pursed together, drawing Caleb's attention to them and how the color of his lipstick complimented his skin. He shook his head to center himself. "Sorry- what was that you said?"

  
Tealeaf clicked his tongue. It wasn't like Nott, where it was gentle or teasing. Somehow Tealeaf made the small sound as condescending as possible. "My order. Three of the sugar cookies. And I'm in a rush. So if you could hurry that up it would be great." He repeated. Caleb nodded and pushed off the wall, getting paper to bag the cookies. As he did he heard Tealeaf clicking his tongue, the eye roll almost audible. "It's not that difficult to stop talking when a customer comes in, gods. Come on." he grumbled to himself.

  
Caleb just kept his head down. He wanteed to get this over with as quickly as possible. As he hustled to the register he heard another customer walking up but stayed on task, he could deal with whoever it was after he took care of Tealeaf. Eyes pointed down he put the order into the register. "That'll be-" he started to give the total, forcing himself to at least glance back up. But as he raised his head his words died, the sight of a familiar face knocking all the air out of his lungs.

  
What

  
the

  
fuck.

  
A face near identical to Tealeaf's was grabbing onto Tealeaf's shoulder in a death grip, nails digging in. For a moment Caleb thought he was seeing double. But the one that just entered didn't have the same makeup, and unlike the first one's judging expression the new one had an honestly terrifying grin currently.

  
"Lucien, _dear,_ " The new Tealeaf started, turning what should be an affectionate term into pure venom, "Are you being an asshole to my favorite barista?"

  
The first Tealeaf- Lucien apparently?- scowled and looked over at him. "Does it matter to you, Molly?"

  
"It's Molly to my friends. Mollymauk to you- you know this." Molly said. He was still smiling, but every word came off as a threat. Even without the words being directed at him, Caleb felt his hair stand on edge.

  
"I know, _Molly_." Lucien jabbed.

  
The two Tealeaf's seemed distracted by each other, completely forgetting about Caleb. And oh gods, there were _two_ of them. How the hell are there two of them. Caleb was NOT prepared to deal with two of them holy shit. Especially when they both suddenly appeared at his work, arguing loudly. He started massaging his arms, breathing going slightly shallow. _He was so unprepared for this._

  
As something gently hit his head Caleb jumped a mile, the two Tealeaf's still to busy to notice. He looked over and saw Nott standing in the doorway to the break room, simultaneously shoving Harris onto the floor and waving him in frantically. Caleb nodded slowly, struggling to think, but forced himself to walk towards her. As soon as he was close enough she ushered him in, closing the door.

  
By the time he got through the door Caleb was hyperventelating. Nott grabbed his hand and sat him down on the small crappy couch, keeping his hand firmly between hers.

  
"Caleb- look at me. Okay? I need you to just look at me and breathe. Do what I'm doing." Nott said softly, exaggerating her breaths. Every time she breathed in she squeezed his hands, and every time she breathed out she released it. He tried to breathe with her but it was difficult. Over the years he'd gotten better at managing panic attacks- so being hit so hard was overwhelming. But still, Nott was good at this. She continued to speak softly as he found a rhythm in his breath. Caleb could barely process her words but the tone was soothing. Eventually his breathing was even and he could open his eyes, looking back at her.

  
"Are you all right?" she asked softly.

  
"I- I believe so? Yes. I am all right now." he fumbled around before deciding on his answer. "I just did not expect..."

  
"For there to be two of them?" Nott finished the thought, clever as she was, Caleb nodded.

  
"Yes- _ja_. I did not expect there to be two of them." As his head started to clear up he was definitely exhausted, but at least able to picture the two of them outside. They were clearly twins- and the more he thought about it the more it explained. The bizarre personality shifts made sense, as well as the lesser question of how they survived after consuming so much caffeine. He really should of pieced this together sooner. "Even if it makes sense that does not change how overwhelming it is."

  
"You can say that again." Nott agreed, crossing her legs. She played with her noise piercing for a moment. "At least this means one of them might be actually nice? The- the second one? I'm calling him the second one. He certainly seemed nicer than the... first one?"

  
Caleb nodded in agreement. "Yes- yes I would agree. That would be the one from the mornings."

  
"How are you so sure?"

  
Caleb gestured vaguely, mostly at his own face. "Molly does not wear as much of the makeup. Lucien does." he explained, and Nott made a small understanding sound.

  
"Ahh.... Well, do you want me to see if they've left? I'm sure Harris took care of them by now." she offered.

  
Caleb shook his head and forced himself to slowly stand up, hugging his arms in a clear sign of self comfort. "No- No I will be fine." He ruffled her hair again at her worried look. "I did promise you I wouldn't let him break me after all. That has not changed because they've doubled."

  
Nott gave him a hesitant smile. He doubted she believed him but nonetheless she supported him wanting to try. She reached up and squeezed his hands, gently leading him back out into the cafe. Once they were out she jumped to the other side of the counter. Technically she wasn't supposed to be back there to begin with, but every one of Caleb's coworkers knew her well enough she could get away with it whenever she felt like it.

  
As Caleb walked back into the cafe he thought he could handle whatever he saw. Passive aggressive bickering was bad, but he'd handled worse.

  
But gods.

  
He wasn't expecting this.

  
An incredibly tall woman had entered the cafe at some poine, and was currently making her way out. But no- she couldn't just be leaving like a normal customer. That would make Caleb's life easy. Instead she was leaving with Molly over her shoulder. Molly was shouting curses, kicking his legs and trying to fight his way out of her grasp like his life depended on it. He was failing, miserably at that, but by the gods he was trying.

  
"YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER ASSHOLE! YOU'RE THE REASON WHY HE ACTS SO AFRAID OF ME! YOU TOTAL ASSHOLE!" he was shouting, pushing on the woman's shoulder.

  
"Molly, don't do this here." the woman said softly, ducking her head down to fit both of them through the doorway.

  
"ILL DO THIS WHEREVER I WANT! IF HE CAN BE A DICK WHY CAN'T I!"

  
"Come on." The woman continued, as if Molly had any choice in the matter. Molly flailed, revealing a few cuts across his face. But he was gone before Caleb could see it better. The woman calmly continued carrying him down the hall, and his shouting was audible in the distance.

  
Caleb stared blankly ahead. Lucien took his bag, a sizable bruise on his cheek, and left the store in the opposite direction.

  
Caleb blinked a few times. He turned back towards Harris. "I am going to take another break." he said, walking back into the breakroom. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I talk more at the end but stuff to know before this chapter!: it's a tad disjointed of a chapter- so sorry about that.  
> Also because a small piece of this chapter will make more sense with this knowledge: in this AU i decided to put in my little concept of Type 1 Diabetic Beauregard. It won't be super plot heavy, but I like putting in T1D characters to it happens in passing.

Through some combination of miracles and good luck, Caleb got through the rest of his shift.

  
Nott had to go back to work shortly after the screaming, but Harris let Caleb do some closing work and leave early after seeing the state that the Tealeaf's left him in. He thanked Harris profusely, promising to make up for it another time. But he looked so exhausted that Harris just sent him out the door before he could thank himself into overtime.

  
So Caleb let out a long sigh, nibbling at the cookie he stole for himself on the way out and resisting the urge to lay across the bench he was seated on. Nott was busy at work so he didn't feel comfortable visiting, and the bus wouldn't be for another hour. Oh the joys of not having a car. Even if he got off early, he still had to stick around.

  
The first half hour was fine, he finished the book he brought with him that day and ate. But after the book was finished time started to drag.

  
Boredom overtaking him, he decided to pace. He walked past the first store next to Starbucks- just a fabric store that he didn't really care about- but stopped after that. A new, brightly colored store caught his attention immediately. The colors had nothing on the smell though. A dozen strong smells hit Caleb at once, like a physical wall as he passed the store's entrance. _Definitely_ LUSH. Caleb, stopped in his tracks, glanced into the store.

  
Somehow, among a room where almost everyone had brightly colored hair or accessories, the head of purple curly hair was the one that caught his eyes.

  
It took Caleb a moment, but he pieced together this one had to be molly. There was a band-aid on his cheek across where he got cut during the scrape. He was ringing up an older woman, leaning in close without any awkwardness. Even from a distance Caleb could see the patience in his movements as he listened, then repeated his sentence a few times for her to understand. And, for whatever reason, Caleb waited. Watching Molly curiously. It was odd- seeing Molly in his own workplace instead of in line at the Starbucks; like he was seeing Molly in his natural habitat for the first time.

  
Eventually the woman left and Molly turned to a coworker, the large woman that had dragged him off the day before. She wore a soft smile, punching Molly lightly on the shoulder. Whatever she said got a laugh out of Molly.

  
They continued speaking and Caleb turned to leave, halfway turned around when he noticed Molly abruptly stand up straighter. Molly turned and stared at Caleb with a grin and a wave.

  
Admittedly, Caleb panicked.

  
He ducked his head, power walking towards the bus station. Sure- the bus wouldn't be here for another twenty minutes and it was overcast. But somehow that still seemed to be the better option.

 

* * *

  
For the first time since he met them, Caleb had seen neither Tealeaf all morning. Molly didn't come out in the morning to flirt, joke, or wave his ass, and Lucien didn't come in that afternoon to get a frankly inhuman amount of caffeine.

  
Somehow, he missed it. Well. There was a part of him that missed Mollymauk in particular. The day seemed a lot more boring without Mollymauk's flirting, and he felt more like a coffee robot without someone treating him like an actual person.

  
"Dude, you look like shit."

  
Caleb passed Beau her regular drinks, one for her and another for her coworker Fjord. "I don't know what you mean."

  
She raised an eyebrow. "Let me rephrase. You look like someone kicked your cat. Who pissed in your coffee?"  
  
"No one pissed in my coffee." Caleb said, frowning.

  
"Dude. I don't know how else to phrase this. Why do you look so upset?" Beau tried a final time.

  
Caleb's frown deepened and he focused on making another drink. He pondered his answer, how much did he want to tell Beau? It was a simple question, and Beau was a friend of his, but he was never good at opening up. "Have you met the Tealeaf's?"

  
"Like- the twins?"

  
"Yes- the twins. You know them?"

  
"Course I know them," Beau leaned against the counter. "Molly's trying to help get me and his hot friend together."

  
Caleb looked over at her. "Really?"

  
Beau went to speak then cut herself off with a frown. She looked at her hip and fiddled with her pump, covering the insulin for her drink but also a deliberate attempt to avoid eye contact. "Hopefully? I think. We have a plan- no, not we. Molly has a plan. Apparently." After getting the settings right she looked back up and took a long sip from her drink. "But this isn't about me- I'm questioning you. Why are you hung up on the Tealeaf's?"

  
Caleb let out a long sigh since apparently he wasn't getting out of this conversation. For once he _wished_ a PTA mom would start yelling at him for talking instead of working. But he had no such luck.

  
"They used to come in here all the time. And I... well, I only realized yesterday that they were two different people."

  
Beau barked out a laugh, so abrupt she almost dropped the drinks in her hands. "Due, are you serious?" she asked. "You've got to be kidding. They're _completely_ different people. Molly's so... Molly. And Lucien, well. He's a total asshole. A total prick."

  
"I am very aware of this fact, _ja,_ now." Caleb said. "As you can imagine I was very confused until I found out."

  
"Yeah dude- I can imagine." she said, laughter still dying down. "But okay- you made a mistake. So what. Why do you _care?_ "

  
"Well- for starters there is the fact I believe they almost got into a fist fight in here yesterday." Beau hummed as though Caleb wasn't saying anything out of the ordinary. "Molly was carried off screaming yelling... _something_. Something about Lucien killing his chances and um- I have yet to see Molly today. Or Lucien."

  
Beau looked at Caleb's face for a moment then slowly nodded. "I don't know why you'd ever want to talk to Lucien so let's focus on Molly. Have you ever tried- I don't know- looking for him? He practically works next door."

  
Immediately Caleb frowned and shook his head. "No-nono. That is not a possibility. I am at work and so is he." he said quickly, walking to the other side of the counter and passing the drink over for the pure sake of avoiding Beau for just a moment. She rolled her eyes, waiting a minute until Caleb was forced to come back and make another drink. "It is not as if we are friends. He simple comes here for coffee, so it would be weird if I tried to talk to him outside of work."

  
"Then go buy some fucking soap. It's not that hard."

  
"I would rather not."

  
Beau rolled her eyes, looking down as her phone buzzed. "Fine- I won't stop you from pining like a schoolgirl. I need to go before Fjord's drink melts." she said, raising her drunk up before taking her leave. "Just buy a fucking bath bomb." she added over her shoulder once more.

  
"Goodbye, Beauregard."

 

* * *

 

  
Caleb didn't visit Molly. He thought about it, he really and truly thought about it. Most of his break was spent pacing the halls of the floor, just thinking about it. During his pacing Caleb passed by Sephora a few times, once glancing in just in time to see Lucien restocking a shelf. As if sending the eyes on his back Lucien's eyes snapped over to meet Caleb's.

  
Caleb had never ran away faster in his life.

  
Despite it being exactly what he was thinking about, Caleb tried to power walk by LUSH whenever he passed by it in his pacing. He saw Molly in the store every time, and found his heart tightening in ways it didn't before.

  
Gods- okay it had happened occasionally before. His heart would skip a beat when Molly smiled at him or said a particularly cute, if atrociously cheesy, line. But any romantic or fanciful thoughts about Molly were quickly dashed away when afternoon came and he said something annoying or rude. But now, knowing the genuine insults were most likely from Lucien, it changed things. Caleb's heart stalled when he saw Molly laugh and give a charming smile through the window.

  
Caleb was fucked.

  
But no matter how much he paced, and no matter how many times he saw Molly and his smile through the window, he just got wrapped up in his own panic and started walking again.

  
Caleb never went and found Molly.

  
But that didn't stop Molly from finding him.

  
Caleb insisted he stay for closing since he left early the day before. Admittedly, it was only half out of any moral obligation. He knew that leaving an hour early wasn't world ending, especially since Harris was good at landing the last of the cleanup work. That wasn't problem. No, the problem was money. Caleb was one to pick up extra shifts whenever it was physically possible because that helped make ends meet. He'd been saving up for a car for years at this point. Every time he got close some emergency or another sent him right back to square one.

  
He was finishing the last of his cleaning work, wiping down the tables when he heard a tapping at the window. Caleb jumped, dropping the rag as he looked up.  
One of the Tealeaf's was standing at the window, tapping at it with a bright blue and jeweled nail. He had to squint, the sign on the window making it difficult for him to actually differentiate which twin it was. Whichever twin it was had makeup on- but both liked to do their face so it didn't actually help much. Realizing this was a fruitless task he sighed, waving his hand to signal the Tealeaf could enter.

  
He was probably going to regret this.

  
The Tealeaf grinned and gave him a thumbs up, pushing open the door and entering. Caleb picked up the rag again and went back to wiping down the rest of the table before his own anxiety could put him into a lock down. He'd talked to both Tealeaf's before, this shouldn't be a problem. He could do this.

  
"Hopefully I'm not bothering you much?" The Tealeaf said, walking up towards Caleb and holding something behind his back. When Caleb looked up again he jumped, finding the taller man suddenly in his bubble and looking down at him. "I can try and be quick if you need to finish closing up?"

  
Caleb shook his head despite himself, closing his eyes. "No- no. It's fine. It is definitely fine-uh..." he trailed off.

  
Caleb peeked an eye open, seeing a surprisingly kind smile directed at him. "Yes- that. That would be part of why I'm here. It seems we got off on the wrong foot? Or- the feet of two different people, apparently." He adjusted how he was standing to hold a hand out. "I'm Mollymauk. Molly to my friends, and that's what I do hope we are now."

  
Caleb took a small step back, needing room to breathe. Thankfully, Molly didn't try and get closer. "Yes- yes. I'm Caleb Widogast." he introduced and quickly shook his hand.

  
"Pleasure to finally properly meet you, Caleb." Molly said happily. He was surprisingly casual about the whole thing, not once insulting or teasing Caleb for begin unable to tell them apart for so long. He was grateful. "I know things got a little... out of hand yesterday." he said, gesturing towards the band-aid on his face. "I wanted to clear things up. So, here I am. As Molly I'm the infinitely more pretty and charming twin. Also the one who ordered the better drinks." he finished smoothly.

  
"I had pieced that together by now, yes." Caleb said softly. "You were a regular in the mornings, a worrying amount of sugar." As well as an abundance of come ons.

  
"I'm just covering all my bases. I want to make sure we're on the same page." Molly said, again not unkindly. "I know there was a mix up between me and my bratty brother- so I wanted to start on a new foot and get you a little something." Caleb raised an eyebrow, eyes widening when Molly brought his arms in front of his chest to reveal a large LUSH bag. He laughed gently, putting the bag onto the table. "I might of gone overboard but _in my defense_ , you never did visit."

  
Caleb peered into the bag, finding even more than he expected. Dozens of bags were lined up, all containing a different container or soap or face mask. All of the smells mixed together creating something that was a tad overwhelming but nice in it's own right.

  
He forced himself to pull his head back up, pushing some of his floppy hair back. "What- I'm sorry? Why?"

  
Molly just laughed again. "Since you didn't come in I couldn't figure out what works for you skin sooooo I guessed. And in hindsight I went a bit overboard. Left to right it goes form oily to dry skin. Towards the top are nice soaps and bath bombs. Just to cover all my bases."

  
Caleb started shaking his head quickly, face turning a dark red. "No- no I can not accept this. This is too much."

  
This was a lot. Not only were there a lot of products but LUSH was incredibly expensive. He'd gone in exactly once, trying to get a gift for Nott, but after seeing the price tags he left and never went back. Molly couldn't just give him a bag like this- there had to be over a hundred dollars worth of products in here. Why would Molly just give this to him? It had to be a mistake.

  
"Caleb, darling. I insist." Molly said, pushing the bag further towards Caleb to make his point. "I get a wonderful discount, and I'm very good at getting free things from work." he promised.

  
"Still- Molly- this is expensive." Caleb said, as if Molly just didn't get it.

  
"Then you can repay me sometime." Molly offered, pushing himself onto his toes. "Not monetarily- because I really didn't pay for half the things in that bag. But with a date? I'd suggest coffee but you must be sick of it by now. I know a wonderful little diner outside the mall though?"

  
Caleb forced his head down, playing with the handles of the bag and turning an impressive shade of scarlet. He could practically feel the heat radiating from his own face. Even with the flirting over the months, and even with the gifts, Caleb was completely and utterly shocked. Molly wanted to... go on a date with him? An actual date. That didn't make sense. Caleb started massaging his arms, a nervous tick. People didn't want to date Caleb, especially gorgeous men like Molly. He glanced up, examining every inch of his face for some trace of a joke or laughter hidden in Molly's features. But no matter how long he stared he couldn't find it. It was just Molly. Molly with a large hopeful smile, and the same light in his eyes he always had.

  
"So, darling. Is this a yes? I'd like an actual answer before making plans." Molly asked, leaning towards him.

  
"No- _nein_ \- I did not say that." Caleb stammered, ripping the paper bag in his fidgeting. "You- you want what? You don't want to go on a date with me."

  
Molly tilted his head, leaning over the table again towards Caleb. It was somehow a more dramatic version of his post from most mornings, partly bent across the table with his ass elevated. Was this _intentional?_ Was Molly actually trying to kill him. "Why would I ask about it if I didn't want it?"

  
"Pity?" Caleb said immediately.

  
Molly frowned, standing up straight. "What? No. Never."

  
"Why else would you-"

  
"Because I like you?" Molly cut Caleb off, circling the table towards Caleb. "I've been flirting with you for months. I know the mess with Lucien made it a little more confusing, but I promise you it was me there flirting with you every morning."

  
Molly was still giving Caleb plenty of room but despite this Caleb fidgeted the closer he got, once again ripping the bag befeore forcing his hands away and wringing them. It still felt fake. There was no way a man like Mollymauk would ever take interest in him. That just wasn't how the world worked. Molly just flirting was one thing. But it couldn't actually mean anything. It couldn't. "No- you do not."

  
Molly stopped approaching, no doubt picking up on how overwhelmed Caleb was. He held his hands up gently, still frowning.

  
"Caleb, darling. Can you listen to me? I promise I wouldn't come to you- a bagful of soap in hand- out of pity. But if you don't want to go on a date we could always hang out as friends? I'd still like to get to know you better." Molly tried again, more restrained.

  
Caleb carefully looked Molly over, again looking for any hidden signs this was a joke. But when he didn't find any he nodded carefully. "Alright. I think I would like that."

  
Molly's frown melted away into another triumphant grin. "Great! And I want you to keep the soap- it's still a gift." he insisted. "But I'll make it clear now, Caleb Widogast. I fully enjoy being your friend but I don't intend to stop trying to woo you." he added with an over exaggerated wink. Caleb made a small spluttering sound and Molly laughed. "I'll pick you up tomorrow after my shift."

  
And with that, and a swing of his hips, Molly left. Leaving Caleb alone, falling to a chair in the cafe and berating himself for his own awkwardness. What-

  
What the _fuck_ just happened.

  
He felt like he was breaking personal records for his break running around in circles, because all it could do was remind himself the idea that Molly wanted to date him was ridiculous. Besides, Molly was so flashy and loud and passionate and gorgeous. Caleb couldn't keep up if he tried.

  
But- maybe friendship was a possibility.

  
It certainly sounded a lot more possible. Caleb was awkward, but not so awkward that he couldn't handle having friends. Besides, Molly was sweet.

  
Confusing? Yes. Loud? Yes. A tad overwhelmingly flirtatious? Definitely. But he was also incredibly charming and kind in ways Caleb couldn't deny he enjoyed being around.

  
Putting his head back to work, Caleb got through the rest of it slower than normal. He'd have to wait for the bus anyways and at least if he was working it meant he was less likely to think about Molly. Or even worse- his brain could jump to Lucien. Gods, he was not ready to have another crisis trying to figure out how they're related. Never mind identical twins.

  
Minutes before the bus would arrive he knew he couldn't procrastinate in the store much longer. Any remaining hopes he had were quashed by Nott letting herself in. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you," she said, adjusting the bag over her shoulders. "Are you all right?"

  
"Huh? Oh- I will be ready to go in a moment." Caleb said. He grabbed his own bag, keeping it carefully by his hip from habit. The bag was just his books, leftovers from lunch, and his faded wallet. But they were still his belongings and he wouldn't risk loosing them. He didn't own much, so what he had was important.

  
"Caleb, that doesn't answer my question." Nott said stubbornly, walking up to him. "Are you all right?"

  
"I'm perfectly fine. I just... got a little distracted." he said, ruffling her hair absentmindedly. She pushed his hand away, raising an eyebrow expectantly. He sighed. "We do not have to buy soap for at least a year?"

  
Nott blinked, expression blank and confused. "What?"

  
Caleb reached behind the counter and took out the large LUSH bag.God- the bag was huge. "Mollymauk came to visit earlier? It was-uh- strange? He brought me soap and... we are... hanging out tomorrow?"

  
"Hanging out?"

  
Caleb gestured vaguely with his hand. "Like I said it was strange? He is a strange man. Uh- he said he was asking me out on a date but that didn't make sense? So we are hanging out tomorrow as friends?" he tried, honestly at a loss to describe it himself.

  
"He asked you out on a _date_?"

  
"Yes? But he was just flirting. He does that a lot." Caleb insisted. Nott gave him a look that, for the first time in all their years living together, was completely unreadable. "What?"

  
Nott let out a long, suffering sigh. "Caleb, you really are the smartest man I know." Caleb was taken aback by the compliment, but Nott held up a long finger before he could thank her. "But you can really be an idiot sometimes."

  
"What-"

  
"Come on, we're going to miss the bus." Nott cut him off again, shouldering her bag and turning on her heel.

  
"Nott-"

  
"We're going to miss the bus!" She repeated loudly and continued out of the store without another word. Caleb grabbed the bag of soap and ran after her, managing to lock the door before running to catch up. For someone so small, she sure knew how to move quickly.

  
He caught up with her at the bus station, seeing her texting someone quickly. Seeing him she tucked the phone away again.

  
"Is everything all right?" Caleb asked, confused by what had just happened. He normally understood Nott's thoughts and actions easily, and she him, it was one of the reasons that they clicked so well. But he could not makes heads or tails of what was going on in her head right now. Was she aggravated with him?

  
She pushed her hair back and looked up at him. "Everything's fine, Caleb. I promise. Now come on- I had child puke in the bathroom today so I could use a drink and a nap."

  
As if on her cue the bus arrived and Caleb stepped in to snag their seats towards the front, Nott closely behind him. They always tried to sit close to the exit. It was as if they wanted to be ready to escape at a moments notice. The routine had formed when they lived in easily the shadiest part of town. In recent years they'd upgraded to a studio apartment with a significantly lower chance of being stabbed on the bus- but old habits die hard.

  
The ride went as it always did, they had a routine.

  
Caleb read in the window seat, every day having just enough of his book left that he could finish it when they arrived at their stop. Occasionally he would listen to one podcast or another, but only if he could filter out the sounds of the bus. Meanwhile Nott always took the aisle seat. Being trapped by the window stressed her out so Caleb ensured she got the aisle, where she put in earbuds and used Caleb's arm as a personal pillow. Caleb noticed she always kept an eye open and glancing around. She noticed he never put both earbuds in at once in case someone tried to startle them. Neither pointed it out to the other.

  
It worked.

  
A half hour passed then they got off the bus, and ten minutes later they were opening the door to their small apartment. Nott shimmied the doorknob- twice to the left, once to the right- before it let them in. She immediately dropped her bag on the table and flopped onto the couch.

  
"How much of that soap do you plan on using?" she asked, lifting her head after hiding it under the pillow for a minute.

  
"What?" Caleb asked, petting the cat that jumped onto his lap the moment he sat down. Frumpkin meowed, demanding attention now that his owner was home. He was more than happy to give it, petting and scratching the cat until he was purring.

  
"Your mountain of soap- how much do you plan on using?" she asked, sitting up straight.

  
"Oh-um. I did not think about that. Are you asking for some?" Molly had overwhelmed him a bit with the abundance of LUSH products so he hadn't thought about actually using them.

  
Nott wrung her hands. "I mean- if you're offering."

  
Caleb laughed, gesturing at the spot on the floor where he dropped the bag. "Go ahead,"

  
She grinned and jumped off her bed, crouching by the bag and grabbing something random from the bag. She sniffed the first object she found then held it up triumphantly. "This'll do." she decided on, standing up. "The store always smells awfully nice, but it's way to expensive for us... I won't look a face mask carrying gift horse in the mouth." she mused. "You get first pick of course, and all the bath bombs are yours, but if you were looking to share the others..."

  
Caleb chuckled again, waving a hand. "Take whatever you want- uh. Left to right goes oily to dry skin? I believe that's what he said."

  
"Caleb, you know I have never paid that much attention to my skin." she said simply, walking towards the bathroom. "Yell if you need me." she called over her shoulder.

  
"I will," He called back, then turned his attention back to Frumpkin. The cat rubbed against Caleb's chest for a minute then hopped off to investigate the bag. Caleb watched as Frumpkin circled it, poking his head in and meowing at it. "Yes, I know, it smells of a lot." Caleb said, walking over and picking the cat up before he decided to start eating a face mask. Frumpkin started purring, scarfing around his neck.

  
Caleb looked down at the bag, the nice smell wafting up to him. He rubbed the back of his neck.

  
Mollymauk was... confusing. As much as Caleb wanted to believe Molly was truly interested in a relationship with him, he couldn't. But still, Molly was kind. Kind and sweet and more than his fair share of attractive.

  
He was a whirlwind, and Caleb kidn of liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaAAAAAAAAAA oh my god I am?? overwhelmed and so excited by the reaction to the first chapter of this self indulgent disaster of an AU. I _do_ plan to continue writing this- I just messed up and didn't mark it down as a multichap fic at first ^^" So really it means the WORLD to me that people were so interested and invested in seeing more of the little world I made?? : D Seriously all the comments and kudos kept me writing- thank you sososososo much. 
> 
> I'm hoping to keep a roughly weekly updating schedule, probably Tuesday nights/Wednesdays. And just- aaa yeah!! I hope you guys keep enjoying and keep reading and stuff : ) 
> 
> hmu on tumblr: @tragedyboycentral


	3. Chapter 3

Mollymauk still wasn't around for coffee the next day, and Caleb wasn't sure if that made his anxiety better or worse.

  
Their date- date? Hang out?- whatever it was was scheduled for that evening and he still didn't feel ready. There was nothing he could do to get ready, but he felt as if he was missing something. It wasn't like he could dress up for the occasion, they were just hanging out. It would probably be at that diner Molly mentioned. Okay- diners really weren't Caleb's style. By the time he was out of work they were crowded with drunk or high students, but with Molly it could be fun.

  
He tried to keep these spiraling thoughts far from his head. He had to get through his shift and _then_ he could go have a panic attack in the bathroom. But not a second earlier.

  
Caleb passed a cup off to Harris quickly. The rush had come and gone by now but Caleb didn't want to slow his pace. If he just kept his head down and stayed in his rhythm the day would go by quickly. Slowing down gave him time to think. And time to think meant he had time for anxiety to fester into another attack.

  
From the corner of his eye Caleb saw someone entering the store so he dutifully stepped over. "What can I get for you?" he asked, looking up and tensing.

  
Lucien was walking into the store, done up as he always was. He pushed a few loose curls behind his ear and approached the counter quickly, looking over his shoulder like he was on the run.

  
"Don't tell Molly I'm here. He'll start another fist fight if he finds out, and I don't think either of us want that." Lucien said quickly, dark red lips pursed. "You seemed to enjoy the last one as much as I did."

  
Caleb nodded slowly. Just catching the tail end of the last fight had been enough to send him spiraling into a panic attack. Actually watching a full brawl, never mind partially causing it, sounded like a nightmare come true. " _Ja,_ you're right... And this is a store- I can't ban you from coming in."

  
"So we're on the same page." Lucien tucked his phone away. "Good. Then I'll have..." he ordered himself a drink and a few pastries, pointing with a long painted nail at the board. As Caleb looked he couldn't help but notice they were definitely sharp enough to function as claws in a brawl. That would explain the cut on Molly's face. Though- it wasn't like Molly didn't get in a few hits of his own.

  
Looking closer, Caleb was able to see what looked like makeup smudged on Lucien's cheek. Barely noticeable, but there. Caleb knew nothing about makeup, but even he could tell that had to be cover up for the sizable bruise Molly had given him. Something told Caleb Sephora didn't want it's employees working while black and blue.

  
"Are you alright?" Caleb found himself asking as he bagged up the pastries.

  
Lucien noticeably tensed, which was honestly impressive since he was already wound up like a coiled spring. "Why?"

  
"What?"

  
"Why." Lucien repeated, more of a statement than a question this time. "Why are you asking?" Caleb shifted awkwardly, lowering his head and quickly trying to finish the order. He didn't want this to turn in an entire ideal. He hadn't even mean to _ask,_ it just sort of slipped out.

  
"Is this a joke?"

  
"I-what?" Caleb forced himself to look up, baffled.

  
Lucien was chewing at his lip, tapping his nails rapidly against the counter. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" he said, voice clipped. He started chewing at his nail. Lucien glared down at the counter as though it had personally offended him.

  
"No? You had quite the bruise last time I saw you so I was concerned." Caleb said carefully. Lucien was a dick, but that didn't mean Caleb liked seeing him get beat up.

  
The rapid tapping on one hand sped up, and on the other Lucien bit down harder on his nails. "I'm fine." he said curtly, picking up his drink and taking a sip. "I can take a hit-"

  
"It can still hurt quite a bit."

  
"Well I'm _fine_." Lucien said, nearly accusatory. "And I'm not the only one who left that day with a mark." he added on. He held the bag and his drink in crossed arms, completely blocking himself off from Caleb. Was he... trying to establish that he was still a threat? Or was he offended about something else? Caleb wasn't sure if he should be concerned or not. Before Caleb could think to hard about it Lucien turned on his heel, strutting out of the cafe.

  
"He's a fiery one." Harris muttered flatly from besides him.

  
Caleb sighed. "I can't tell if he was threatening me or not?"

  
Harris shrugged. "What else is new?"

* * *

  
"Dude- you two are going on a date."

  
"No- no it's most decidedly not a date." Caleb said, shaking his head. He was leaning against the wall at the sports store, between Beau and Fjord. He wasn't a fan of the store itself, all the customers were sporty and loud and straight, but he wanted out of the cafe and he'd rather face a football team than a vomiting toddler while visiting Nott.  
"He literally asked you on a date." Beau continued, restocking a shelf.

  
"And I made it very clear we were not going on a date." Caleb countered.

  
"Fjord, back me up here."

"Fjord, please tell Beau she is wrong."

  
Fjord raised his hands up in surrender, clearly not wanting to be trapped in the middle of this. "Can I plead the fifth?"

  
"Not an option." Beau said, pointing a baseball at him threateningly.

  
He sighed. She wouldn't actually do anything, but the message was clear enough. "I suppose... if I had to choose one. You might not think it's a date- but knowing Molly I reckon he wants it to be."

  
"What does that mean?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

  
"What do you think it means? It means Molly wants to date you." Beau said.

  
"I am willing to bet Molly dates a lot of people, so he would not particularly care if it is as friends just once."

  
Beau and Fjord both exchanged looks. "In all the time I've known him I've seen Molly go on a proper date once or twice, and he normally backs down pretty quick from a no." Fjord said, Beau nodding in agreement.

  
"Jester knows him better than either of us but I've seen the same." Beau agreed.

  
Caleb tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean a proper date?"

  
Fjord made a small sound in the back of his throat, much like a dying animal. "Well-he-you know." he made vague gestures with his hands. "He doesn't often _date_ people- but that doesn't stop him from. You know."

  
"He sleeps around." Beau explained for him bluntly. "The guy likes a good time,"

  
"Oh," Now it was Caleb's turn to make a small choking sound that he barely covered up with a cough. It put a lot of images in his head, about Molly in a _lot_ of positions, but he tried to shove those aside. Had that been what Molly was after in asking him out before? It certainly made more sense. Caleb wasn't much to look at, he hadn't shaved recently and his hair was a wreck, but he supposed he could believe that.

  
"Now, don't you get the wrong idea." Fjord said, as if reading Caleb's mind. "When I see him looking for- you know- company like that, he always asks them out for drinks. You know, he wants to make it a good time for himself."

  
Caleb frowned. "He mentioned a diner, not drinks."

  
Beau rolled her eyes, "Yeah. Exactly." She groaned, turning back to restock. "Why don't you just ask Lucien? If anyone knows what Molly wants from you- it's him."

  
Caleb blanched and shook his head. "I can think of _nothing_ that I want to do less."

  
Without seeing her face, Caleb could practically hear her eyes rolling back into her head. "Dude. You've got to be kidding me? Just talk to him." she said. "Just trust me- if Molly's told anyone it's him. They carpool- and there's no way Molly can shut up for an entire car ride."

  
"Weren't you the person who told me Lucien's an asshole I should avoid?"

  
"Hey. I said he's an asshole, not that you should avoid him." Beau corrected. She finished stocking the shelf and turned around. "He's like-" she snapped her finger in thought.

"He's a total dick. But he's not... a bad person?"

  
Both Fjord and Caleb looked at her incredulously and she groaned, gesturing with her hands as she struggled to articulate what she meant.

  
"I just- Lucien's a prick. But he's not like, bad? There's a difference between being an _asshole_ and being a _bad person_. Like- he's actually pretty protective of Molly. He'll just claw you if you point it out. And like- if you know how to handle him he's bearable. "

  
"Since when are you so well acquainted with Lucien?" Fjord asked and Beau shrugged.

  
"We had a college class together. The Prof. forced us together for a project and I learned how to handle him."

  
Caleb zoned out a bit, getting caught up in what Beau said. He couldn't imagine Lucien being protective of anyone, but especially Molly. Both twins currently had a scar that made the idea seem impossible. But before Caleb could find himself too far down the Tealeaf rabbit hole, his phone buzzed and he sighed.

  
"As invested as I am in this conversation, I really should be going." Caleb stepped back and started leaving the store to go back to work.

  
"Just talk to one of them! Stop pouting!" Beau called after him, and he just gave a small wave as he left.

 

* * *

  
By the end of his shift, Caleb was pretty proud that he hadn't worked himself into a complete panic attack. He got close more times than he wanted to admit- whenever he was left alone with his thoughts it jumped to every single way seeing Molly could go wrong- but he managed to distract himself with one thing or another every time.

  
He took a seat in the corner of the cafe and chewed on his straw, not even drinking anything. He just needed to anxiously bite something.

  
Whenever somebody walked by the window Caleb's eyes shot up, scanning the passers by for any sign of purple hair or flashy wardrobe. But all he could see so far was families or overly affectionate couples. He forced his eyes back down and stared at the same page of his book for five minutes, just pretending to read and rubbing the paper of the pages between his fingers.

  
Sucking at the straw he sighed, pushing a few curls out of his eyes. He wasn't sure he was in the right place. Molly had said they'd leave after their shifts but never specified a meeting spot. Was Caleb supposed to be outside LUSH? Or maybe at the fountain? He frowned, getting wound up in his own panic.

  
He was just about to leave, start pacing around the mall, when the door flung open and a familiar lanky man came bounding in.

  
"I am so sorry I'm late. I went to get changed and got caught by some lovely but _talkative_ old lady and just managed to escape." Molly said, grabbing a chair and leaning onto it.

  
Caleb buffered. He totally wasn't staring- not at all. He wasn't staring at the face Molly was in the deepest V-neck he had ever seen, and that because of the cut of the tank he could see the tattoos running down Molly's arm and creeping onto his chest for the first time. He most definitely was _not_ staring at the way the tight jeans hugged his hips and looked practically painted on. And Caleb was most definitely not- not at all- staring at the shade of pink Molly currently was since he had clearly sprinted here.

  
Not at all.

  
"Hello? Earth to Caleb?" Molly said, waving a hand in front of Caleb's face.

  
Caleb jerked back to reality and shook his head. "Of course- sorry- what was that?"

  
Molly smiled kindly and brought his hand back. "I just wanted to make sure you were with me. Everything all right?"

  
Caleb nodded, standing up to force himself to look away for a moment. " _Ja_ , of course. I just spaced out for a minute. Sorry."

  
"Perfectly all right, darling." Molly promised. "It happens. I do hope I'll be able to keep you entertained enough you don't zone out too much this evening." Oh that wouldn't be a problem, Caleb was struggling to focus on anything other than Molly. "Now, let's not waste time. I got something planned that I think you'll love."

  
"Oh? I... admit, I feel unprepared. I did not plan anything." Caleb hadn't thought of anything, and he hadn't even changed out of his basic black pants and gray shirt.

  
"Don't you worry about it, I have it all planned." Molly promised, holding up his arm. "Shall we?"

  
Caleb looked down at Molly's arm, back up at his smiling face, then down at the arm again. Making his decision, he carefully linked his arm with Molly's. Molly absolutely beamed, acting as though he had succeeded in something grand.

  
"Off we go, I _promise_ you'll enjoy this. I've gone to great lengths." Molly said, leading Caleb out through the parking lot.

  
"I hope you didn't go to any trouble... I assure you it's not worth it." Caleb said, glancing up at him. Molly just laughed and squeezed Caleb's arm.

  
"No trouble at all- it was quite fun actually. I think I've found the perfect place." he promised. "Just trust me, you've got to trust me. Ah- and here we are." he pulled out his keys and clicked it, a bright purple car chirping in front of them.

  
"Is this yours?" Caleb asked, looking the car over.

  
"Indeed," Molly grinned, tapping the hood. "I've named her Peacock. She's nice, isn't she? Certainly prettier than most other cars." Molly seemed reluctant as he pulled his arm away from Caleb's, allowing both of them to get into the car. He rubbed the steering wheel, almost fondly, and started the car up.

  
"Indeed. She is quite pretty." Caleb agreed. He wasn't a car person, but this car was clearly well taken care of. The only signs the car wasn't right off the lot was the personal touches, rainbow floor mats, CDs tucked in every corner, and a dark purple wallet that Caleb found tucked besides him. He assumed it was an old one and fiddled with it absentmindedly, rubbing his thumbs over the leather.

  
Molly grinned, rolling down the windows and starting to drive. The wind whipped Molly's curls around, and it should look bad but somehow it looked great. "I got her after graduation." he mused, draping one arm out the window and letting the wind push against his hand.

  
They lapsed into silence for a few moments and Molly reached over, hitting a few buttons to that music was playing softly in the background. Caleb didn't recognize it. "Sorry, I just can't drive in silence." Molly explained. "I did a few times, the radio broke and I was driving to a night class back then. I actually almost crashed the car. I couldn't focus- _no one_ was using their blinker, and I narrowly missed hitting a car. Never making that mistake again." he chattered.

  
Caleb smiled softly, leaning back and letting himself get comfortable. Molly seemed to be enjoying himself, so that was a good start. Caleb wasn't good company, if Molly was content that was already better than he expected.

  
"So- um. You are studying something?" Caleb asked awkwardly, trying to reach out. He wasn't good at that.

  
Molly tapped his nails against the wheel, blue jeweled nails making a soft clicking noise. "Well- not anymore. I dropped out awhile ago. You know, school just wasn't doing it for me. So I quit." Molly explained. "Don't regret it for a moment." There was something about the way Molly said it. It was as cheery as always, but there was a bit of weight hidden behind his words and Molly didn't wave his hands about as he normally did.

  
"Ja," Caleb agreed. He didn't want to continue on a topic that made Molly uncomfortable, even if he didn't admit it. He fidgeted, staring out the window uncomfortably. He started hunching a bit.

  
Molly glanced over, then back to the road. "All right- how do you feel about music? Do you have a preference?"

  
Caleb shook his head. "Not really? Um- I do not listen to much music." he confessed.

  
Molly quirked his head to the side. "You don't have any preference in music? At all?" Caleb shook his head again. "We'll have to change that then. Tell me what you like and what you don't, I'll get a playlist for you." Molly decided and tossed Caleb his phone. "There we go. Just open a random playlist, and we'll see what you like and don't."

  
"Are you sure?" Caleb asked, looking down at the phone in his hands.

  
"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure."

  
Caleb nodded slowly and pressed the button, seeing the lock screen. It was a photo of Molly on the shoulders of the larger woman from LUSH, laughing and grinning like a maniac. It was incredibly sweet. "Um- I do not know the pass code?" Caleb asked.

  
"Oh! 0619." Molly said without thinking, which caught Caleb by surprise. Caleb didn't give anyone his pass code, even Nott didn't have that access to his phone. So the fact that Molly was able to give it away so easily, without even a second's reservation, said a lot to him. How was he able to just give it away so easily?

  
Caleb tapped it into the screen. "Is.. that your birthday?" he asked.

  
"That obvious, huh?" Molly laughed.

  
Caleb shrugged. He was a bit distracted by Molly's wallpaper. This one was a photo of Molly fast asleep and sprawled out across a couch, a blanket thrown haphazardly over him. It was cute. He went to open Spotify but the screen suddenly darkened, someone calling Molly's phone.

  
"Um, Molly?"

  
"Yes, darling?"

  
Caleb chewed his lip. "Dick... Butt is calling? Who is Dick Butt?"

  
"Oh? Just ignore it- hit the power button twice." Molly told him and Caleb was confused but did so. He opened up Spotify and flipped through all of Molly's playlists before tapping one that looked fairly interesting. Or interesting enough.

  
The rest of the drive focused on the music, which was surprisingly pleasant. Molly had a nice taste in bands. He insisted Caleb keep the phone and skip any songs that he didn't absolutely love. He made sure Caleb was honest too, asking his opinions of the beats and the voices after every single one. Caleb didn't get why Molly was so invested in his song choices, but there was something nice about it. It made it feel like Molly really _cared_.

  
He forced the thought from his mind. Caleb had a history of falling hard and fast, and he didn't want to deal with that. Molly wasn't actually interested in him like that. People didn't get interested in him like that.

  
Caleb didn't know how long the drive was, time went by quickly, but soon Molly was parking the car in front of what looked like a lake. Caleb got out and walked over to the railing, glancing back as Molly joined him. "Where are we?"

  
"You've never been?" Molly asked.

  
Caleb shook his head. "No and- um. I was distracted on the drive?" He admitted and Molly grinned.

  
"Good. I was a bit worried the drive would be too long, so we're off to a good start." Molly hummed and held his arm up, and Caleb took it again with some hesitation. He started walking, leading them down a stone sidewalk past restaurants and small shops. "And before you ask again, we're in Salem."

  
"Salem? Why are we in Salem?" Despite living close to the town Caleb had never been, it always struck him as a tourist trap.

  
"I have a plan for the evening. Trust me, darling." Molly said, patting Caleb's arm.

  
Caleb looked up at Molly, who was looking right ahead right now. He seemed completely at ease, completely sure everything would go smoothly and they would have a great time. Normally surprises and not knowing the plans stressed Caleb out, it was part of why this morning had been so stressful. But something put him at ease. Molly was okay, so Caleb was okay.

  
It was a cool day, gray clouds blocking out the sun and threatening rain but Molly didn't care. The weather was nice in a way, at least they weren't sweating. Though Caleb did have the fleeting wonder if Molly was cold given his outfit. If he was he didn't mention it, just expertly leading Caleb through the town.

  
"You seem to know the area very well." Caleb observed as Molly turned down a shortcut.

  
"I know all the good shops. There's nowhere better to buy crystals and tarot if you know where to look." he said, gesturing openly with his hands. "I always think it's ironic? The town known for the witch trials has fostered some amazing witchy shops." he mused. "Humanity truly does go on."

  
Caleb nodded. " _Ja,_ it is ironic." he agreed. He hadn't thought about it, but it was nice hearing Molly talk.

  
Molly smiled, reaching down to pat Caleb's arm again. "All right- enough of that. I know a place I think you'll like." Molly said, walking down the road until he stopped at the store on the corner.

  
There was a small banner hanging off of the flagpole that read a simple word, "Books." Molly pulled open the door and pushed Caleb ahead in front of him, into perhaps the most beautiful place he had ever seen.

  
Books were _everywhere_. Absolutely everywhere. All of the walls were covered floor to ceiling with paperbacks and hardcovers, small paper labels hanging from the ceiling to dictate what genre was shelved where. Eyes shining, Caleb carefully made his way through the narrow walkways. Tall stacks of books divided the already small store into small pathways, and as he peeked behind a stack he could see a sea of novels that had fallen into a pile and never got cleaned up.

  
It was heaven.

  
Caleb looked like Hannukah and Christmas and his birthday had all come at once, absolute stars in his eyes. Molly wrapped an arm around his shoulders, somehow looking even happier than Caleb about this.

  
"Get _whatever_ you want, okay?" Molly said, pulling him flush against his side. Caleb blushed, overly aware of all the physical contact. Molly was really warm, his broad chest comfortable and secure next to Caleb's head. Caleb could imagine laying down and cuddling Molly, feeling the chest pressed against his as they curled close together. Fuck- Caleb shoved the though from his head.

  
"I- no- I can not do that." Caleb mumbled.

  
"And why not?"

  
"You have already gotten quite a lot for me, with the soap. The books too would be to much."

  
"Caleb, darling. I _really_ didn't pay for most of that soap, please believe me on that. And I want to do this, get as much as your heart desires."

  
Caleb shook his head. "That would be too much money."

  
"I've been saving up to spoil someone worth it. You're worth it."

  
Caleb looked down, trying to hide his growing blush. Molly said such sweet things to him. He didn't get it.

  
Molly sounded so firm in his words, and he squeezed Caleb so closely as he said these wonderful things. For a moment Caleb's anxiety and his need to shove away any future relationships due to past ones seemed so far away. All that mattered right now was him and Molly and this wonderful book store.

  
"I will go half and half." Caleb said after a long moment.

  
"Eighty- twenty." Molly countered.

  
"Seventy five- twenty five. That is my final offer."

  
"You run a hard bargain, but I'll take it." Molly teased, stepping away from Caleb. He couldn't tell if he missed being held like that or not. "Now go on, I've never seen anyone happier than when you walked in. Go crazy- I'll follow behind."

  
Caleb nodded slowly, a bit self conscious at the idea of Molly following him through the book store. He could get like a kid in a toy store when left to his own devices. But soon his anxiety was pushed to the side in favor of his love for books.

  
As the anxiety fell aside he started working his way through the narrow walkways, taking the time to examine each and every title. He grabbed random books off the shelves, speed reading through just enough of it to decide if he enjoyed it or not. He gravitated towards the novels and historical fiction, those were the stories that always kept him up late at night trying to read just one more chapter before sleep. It wasn't long before he had a gigantic stack in his arms that he was struggling to carry.

  
"Mollymauk- could you give me a hand and grab the one on top?" he asked without thinking, eyeing an older title he'd been looking for for years.

  
He could hear Molly's soft laughter from behind him. Without a word Molly leaned over him, and Caleb tried to ignore the way his chest pressed against Caleb's back, as he skillfully grabbed the book from the top of the stack.

  
"Do you want me to carry this one?" Molly offered.

  
"No, I can do it." Caleb said, reaching up to take it but quickly pulled his arm back as his stack almost went tumbling from his arms. "Oh-"

  
Molly laughed sweetly, taking half of the stack from Caleb's arms to lighten the load. "Here. Let me help." he insisted, easily holding half of the stack under his arm.

  
Caleb looked at the stack Molly was holding, back to his stack, then back to Molly and coughed awkwardly. "Um- I'm realizing now I grabbed far to many. I let me excitement get the best of me. Here-" he took the book off the top of the stack and went to put it back, but Molly reached over and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

  
"No- darling. You're fine. I think it's quite charming that you're leaving today with your own little library." he insisted, releasing Caleb's wrist.

  
Caleb chewed at his lip, shifting from foot to foot and feeling his face turning flush in embarrassment. "I-no- are you sure?" he stammered. "This is a lot, and I don't want to put you out."

  
"I've never been more certain about anything in my life. And don't try and argue with me- if you do I will grab another dozen books for you just to prove how serious I am."  
Caleb frowned in thought but nodded carefully. "Alright. But I think I have gotten enough."

  
Molly hummed, not pushing him to grab any more which Caleb was grateful for. He was grateful but didn't want to take advantage of Molly's kindness. Admittedly, one of the reasons he accepted it was Molly seemed just as happy as Caleb was about Caleb getting the books.

  
The pair brought the books over to the counter, and Caleb was absolutely enchanted as he realized you had to pay by sliding the money through a hole within the books. The two divvied up the money in cash, staying true to their 75/25 agreement. And soon they were exiting the small store, Caleb carrying two heavy bags in his arms and humming to himself in contentment.

  
"So, did you enjoy it?" Molly asked and Caleb nodded quickly.

  
"Ja, yes. I have never been in such a wonderful store." Caleb admitted, looking down at the bags and grinning to himself. "It is like a fairy tale."

  
"I thought you might enjoy it," Molly laughed and absolutely beamed. "Do you have enough energy for a bit more? I have one other place in mind you might enjoy."

  
"Molly, as much as I appreciate it I don't want you buying me anything else."

  
"I won't." Molly promised, stopping to face him. "It's on the way back to the car so if you don't like it we can just keep walking. I promise."

  
Caleb looked up at him carefully and slowly nodded. "All right. If you say so." Molly hadn't lead him astray so far, the ride and the book store had both been incredibly nice. This whole town was pleasant, much more so than he could have ever expected. So he really didn't have any reason to believe Molly would fail him now.

  
Molly beamed again, he always seemed so bright, and it was near contagious. "Perfect! All right, this way. You won't regret it." He took one of the bags from Caleb and linked their arms together before Caleb could protest, and he was surprised to find that he didn't want to. He lead him down the stone streets under the cloudy sky, a noticeable bounce had found it's way into Molly's step.

  
Molly lead him up the stone street and onto pavement, leading him up to a small cafe. People came and went, the door ringing slightly each time.

  
"Mollymauk- I appreciate it but I told you I don't want you buying me anything." Caleb said, stopping them outside of the door.

  
"I know- I know. So I won't buy you anything, and if you don't want to get yourself anything we'll go right back to the car. But I have a feeling you'll like this place." he explained.

  
Caleb glanced inside. It did look inviting. There were tables up against the windows, and a nice smell wafting out through the door whenever it opened up. "All right. But I'm paying for us." Caleb decided, looking firmly up at him. "Then we have a deal."

  
"Of course." Molly smiled and lead Caleb inside and to one of the tables by the window, getting him situated with his bags. "I'd like to surprise you, if you like? So just give me a ten and I'll get us drinks."

  
Without thinking about it Caleb reached into his pocket and passed Molly a ten. If he thought about it he'd be surprised by himself, money was scarce so he normally hesitated to trust anyone with it. But he brushed off the thought easily- assuming it was just because Molly had spent so much money on him already that a few dollars of change wouldn't be the end of the world.

  
"Perfect. Now sit tight, I'll be right back." Molly said then went up to the counter. Caleb watched curiously and couldn't help but notice he held himself differently. It was odd. Molly was still as chatty and pleasant as he always was when ordering. But in Starbucks he always draped himself over the counter like he was posing, and that was noticeably missing now. Weird.

  
Molly chatted with the workers and a few patrons, friendly as ever. Then he returned to the table a few minutes later, holding one cup for himself and another for Caleb. The drink sleeve had a design of a rainbow on it, and when Caleb took the lid off the drink itself was bright pink. Molly was grinning like a Cheshire cat, sipping his own drink already.

  
"It's good. Red velvet hot chocolate, I think you'll like it."

  
Caleb smile, admittedly he was a bit of a snob with hot chocolate. It was a habit him and Nott developed over the years. Caffeine fired up Caleb's anxiety most of the time, so him and Nott had started getting hot chocolate instead years ago. The house was full of it. He carefully lifted the drink to his lips, taking a long sip. It was hot without burning, nice and warming him up from the inside. The taste was also sweet, whatever flavor they used for the red velvet mixing with the chocolate without being overwhelming. It was great.

  
Caleb grinned up at Molly, sipping it again. "It is good." he said, holding the cup up to his face and basking in the soothing warmth.

  
"Good." Molly rested his chin on his hand as they both had their drinks in a comfortable silence. Neither felt the need to speak and fill the silence. It was comfortable.  
By the time they finished their drinks the clouds had darkened further and it started pouring rain, and as they looked out the window they could see passers by running for cover.

  
"Well that is unpleasant." Caleb muttered as they stared at the pouring rain. He didn't know how close they were to the car but he knew they'd be soaked by the time they got to the car. And Caleb was even more concerned that the books would be ruined. Molly stood up and sighed, tapping the window and rubbing the back of his neck.

  
"I planned for pretty much everything... but I didn't plan for rain." Molly confessed. He chewed at one if his nails. "No- you know what, I won't let this get us down. You wait here- I'll be right back. I have an idea."

  
"What are you doing, Molly?"

  
"Something possibly stupid, but nothing harmful." Molly said ominously. Terrifyingly ominously, gods. "Wait here."

  
Without another word Molly ran off out of the store, crossing his arms above his head to ineffectively block the rain from his head. He turned the corner and ran out of sight, leaving Caleb to sit alone in the cafe. He stayed standing by the window, sitting down would just let his anxious energy fester. So he stood, bouncing his leg and chewing on a straw he stole from the barista.

  
Five minutes passed. Then ten. Then fifteen. Caleb was getting anxious, worrying that something happened or that Molly wouldn't be coming back. He considered leaving- maybe going back to the car? No- that wouldn't work. He didn't even know where Molly parked, never mind the fact that Molly took the keys with him when he ran off to do... whatever the hell he did.

  
What was Molly up to anyways.

  
Caleb was just about to start pacing the streets looking for Molly when the door swung open again. "Caleb! Darling! I got it- meet me out here, will you?!" he called into the cafe, ignoring the stares he got from other customers. Caleb blushed from the attention suddenly on the two of them as he bustled over to the door. Molly was standing outside, waving with one hand and holding an umbrella above him with the other. The umbrella was loud, a neon pink that suited Mollymauk perfectly.

  
"Where did you get that?" Caleb asked dumbly.

  
"I found a tourist shop, now come on. It's soaking out here."

  
"Are you sure there is room for the two of us?" Caleb asked, glancing up at the umbrella.

  
"We'll crowd a little bit. I don't bite, not unless asked."

  
Caleb's face turned a burning shade of red and he spluttered, holding a hand up as he struggled with his words. What- _why_. Molly laughed but his expression softened and he pushed a few soaking locks of hair out of his face. "Really though- I don't mind the contact if you don't. It'll just be until we get to the car."

  
Caleb pulled his scarf up over his face, covering his nose, and he nodded slowly. "All right," he said, voice muffled through the wool, as he left the store and quickly ducked under the umbrella.

  
"There we go," Molly said and wrapped an arm tightly around Caleb, pulling him under the umbrella and flush against Molly's chest. Molly's white shirt was saturated with water, clinging to Molly's skin and turning partially see-through. He held Caleb close, like he was personally protecting him from the downpour just beyond their little world within the umbrella.

  
"Is this all right?" Molly checked in, breath ghosting on Caleb's ear. He shivered. They'd never been so close before, and it sent sparks down his spine. All Caleb could do was nod breathlessly, trying not to get lost in the way he could feel Molly's chest ride and fall with his laughter. "Great."

  
It was a bit fo a shuffle, walking with the bulks bags while Molly held Caleb so close to keep him under the umbrella. But they managed to make it down the street and back onto the curved road by the lake. Peacock stood out through the downpour, the bright purple paint working like a lighthouse in the fog. Molly insisted on getting Caleb and his books into the car first, joking about protecting his investment, before sliding in himself.

  
The two of them sat there. They looked at each other. Looked at the rain. Then Molly dissolved into loud giggles and laughter, and Caleb found himself laughing along too.  
"We look like we've just gone swimming," Molly laughed.

  
" _Ja_ , you'd think we went to the beach instead of a bookstore." Caleb agreed, carefully tucking the books between his feet. He wasn't nearly as soaked as Molly thanks to the umbrella, but it was still fun to laugh about.

  
"Honestly. I'm just grateful it waited until we were done. I'd of hated to arrive here and find it this miserable," he laughed and started up the car, blasting the heat. "All right- let's get you home, shall we? The buses wont be running now and I won't have you walking in this." he said and carefully pulled out, starting driving them back home.

  
"Are you sure? I don't mind walking some." He'd walked in worse, snow storms didn't care if you had a car or not.

  
"Absolutely certain. Now come on, put on some more music. We'll definitely hit traffic."

  
Caleb dutifully opened up a playlist, a different one this time. They fell into the same rhythm, Caleb could skip songs he didn't like and they'd chat about the ones that he did. Traffic was as bad as Molly expected, and they were soon stuck in what felt like a parking lot on the highway. As they talked about another song the screen went dark, another incoming call.

  
"Oh, would you mind telling me who that is?" Molly asked, passing Caleb the phone without taking his eyes off the road.

  
" _Ja,_ " Caleb looked at the screen. "... Dick Butt is calling you again? Um-" he scrolled down through the notifications. ""He has called you a lot tonight..."

  
" _Fuck,_ " Molly cursed softly, reading out for the phone. "All right- hand it here and I'll fix this." he took the phone and quickly tapped out a text message, sending a few off rapid fire. "All right- there we go. So we have to make a pit stop before I drop you off."

  
"Should I be concerned?" Caleb asked, already concerned.

  
"No- well. A bit? It'll be fine. I promise. You have no reason to worry." Molly said, not really convincing Caleb that everything was fine. "I just need to get something from the rain. It'll be fine." he said, playing the music again before Caleb could argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S O!! I'm ganan be talky here. First off sorry this update took so long, I'll go into it a bit more soon. But:  
> 1) if you want an image of the book store just google "salem book store" and you'll see the shop I'm referring too. It's since closed but,,, I'm In Denial.  
> 2) i love love languages so im just saying Molly's top love languages are "Gift Giving" and "Physical Touch", hence This Chapter. meanwhile Caleb's more of an "Acts of service" guy as well as physical touch.  
> 3) S o as to why this took 80 years to update.  
> The next 2 chapters are giving me the Run Around and are killing me. Because basically what I have planned is the next chapter is going to be a bit shorter w/ some plot/development, and then after to switch things up there's going to be an Interlude from Molly's perspective. And that interlude is giving me the run around because I need it to be perfect, hence the delay. But I decided I didn't want to push off this chapter any longer. So.. yeah!! I'll try to update soon I just need to get through the Interlude. 
> 
> and in the meantiem you can hmu on tumblr! @tragedyboycentral


	4. Molly Interlude I: Part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ramble more at the end but as the chapter name says, this is actually a Molly Interlude.

Mollymauk Tealeaf had made a lot of mistakes in his life, and he wasn't above admitting it.

 

Most of those mistakes involved his family. 

 

Family was difficult for Molly - the Tealeaf parents had been difficult and gods know that was the source of so many of their family's issues. But Molly didn't care about his parents right now. No. All he cared about was Lucien and their most recent spat. 

 

Arguments weren't new for the Tealeaf twins. They'd started bickering back when they were children, around the same time they simultaneously decided they were done being treated as a unit and they needed their own identities. Lucien got to be bookish and smart; Molly got the personality. Molly was loud and likeable; Lucien was awkward. 

 

They were suddenly the polar opposites of each other, and it was all by design. 

 

Everything, no matter how big or how small, became a source of strife. When the two of them liked the same thing, which was more often than they'd ever admit, they had to fight it out until it belonged to one of them. 

 

Because if they both liked it, they got lumped right together again. 

 

And  _ gods, _ Molly couldn't live like that anymore. 

 

So he pushed their separation whenever they were out in the world. Molly could still remember when they were back in school, living in completely different social groups and completely different worlds. Honestly, Molly didn't even know if Lucien had had a social group. He had been far too wrapped up in his own. 

 

Lucien had tried to get close to Molly's group one day, in Theater. It was a surprise to absolutely no-one when Molly joined the drama group and quickly became a prominent member. After all, Molly was loud. He was colorful and shining, and whenever he entered a room, all eyes would immediately be drawn to him to watch him with rapt attention. He was a natural showman. 

 

So he just didn't  _ get _ why Lucien showed up in the dressing room. 

 

_ Molly strutted down the stairs and into the dressing room of their high school, pushing the doors open with same dramatic flair. He always had to make an entrance.  _

 

_ "Afternoon, all!" he said brightly, dropping an arm across one of his friends’ shoulders.  _

 

_ He grinned down at the girl, Kaya, then pushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. "Since when do you wear makeup?" he mused as he took in her face.  _

 

_ Kaya grinned proudly. The bright colors of the makeup complemented her dark skin and curls in a way that he hadn't seen on her before. She was absolutely beaming. "Ever since today. Why didn't you tell me that your brother could do this? He should have joined us years ago - I'm tired of doing my own makeup!"  _

 

_ Molly barely kept himself from tensing but continued with a forced grin. "I'm sorry, darling, I must have heard you wrong. Did you say my brother?"  _

 

_ Kaya nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" she said, gesturing towards the corner.  _

 

_ Perched precariously on a rolling chair in the back of the room, makeup palette across his lap, was Lucien. He had another actress knelt ahead of him as he carefully did her face. When Molly thought about it now, he could still picture it. Lucien was carefully testing colors on the back of his hand, tongue stuck out in focus. He gently lifted the actress’s chin and put a few finishing touches on her eyes. There was something soft about Lucien's actions. Something he hadn't seen in years.  _

 

_ When Molly got happy, he became loud. He was a colorful whirlwind of excitement and pride that only escalated the happier he got. But Lucien was the opposite. A happy Lucien was quiet.  _

 

_ While Lucien added the finishing touches, he was smiling. It was barely visible;, Molly was only able to recognize it due to a lifetime of experience. For once, everything about Lucien's features was gentle. There weren’t any rough edges or sarcastic remarks. Just a smile so tentative it was as if Lucien was terrified the rug was going to be pulled out from under him.  _

 

_ Lucien leaned back and smiled, taking a mirror from someone in the small group that had huddled around him. He passed it to the actress and laughed softly at something Molly couldn't hear. Another boy - Tan - jumped up, seemingly eager to be next.  _

 

_ And something in Molly's chest, something ugly, couldn't have that. _

_ This group was his. This was his spotlight and his friends, and given a day or two of Lucien here it wouldn't be that anymore. Mollymauk had liked the attention he got here. He could just be Molly. Not the one with personality, not a Tealeaf, and god forbid he wasn't just the younger twin.  _

 

_ Body acting as if on its own accord, spurred on by immature teenage emotions, he strut on over into the center of the group. He wrapped himself around Tan, practically spooning him from behind. "What do we have here?" Molly purred, settling his hands on Tan's hips.  _

 

_ Tan squeaked softly. He had a definite crush on Molly and - well - if anyone asked Molly was just indulging him.  _

 

_ "You should have told me we were practicing stage makeup. I would have brought the pallete down months ago," he said, reaching a hand over to wrap it around another girl’s shoulders.  _

 

_ "Really? You didn't tell us you were good at this!" the girl said.  _

 

_ Molly just squeezed her shoulder and slipped himself further into the center of the group. "Of course, darling. This doesn't just happen naturally." He laughed, gesturing towards his face and beaming as he got a laugh out of the group. The focus of the conversation shifted towards Molly, and he soaked it up.  _

 

_ From the corner of his eye he could see Lucien retracting in on himself, sliding his chair backwards and out of the group all together. The faint smile that was there disappeared without any trace.  _

 

Molly's chest went tight whenever he thought about it. But back then he'd tried to justify it to himself. He and Lucien had drawn a strict line in the sand, of what belonged to who. He was just staying true to that…. Right? 

 

Whatever happened throughout the rest of the day blurred by. Molly had fit right back in with his group and went about everything as usual,  completely forgetting Lucien was even there. But it was okay, because it wasn’t like he was cutting himself off from Lucien. 

 

They still spent every night on opposite sides of the same room. And they were still twins. 

 

Molly had felt validated at the time that what he did was okay because, well, Lucien was still there when he went into their room that night. Molly spread himself across his bed with his legs kicked into the air. Lucien slipped in, silent as ever. 

 

_ "Lucy!" Molly lifted his head and crossed his ankles with an easy grin.  _

 

_ Lucien nodded and slipped into his desk, dropping the bag by his side. He wordlessly brought out his laptop and started on it.  _

 

_ That just wouldn't do.  _

 

_ Molly flipped off the bed and walked over, shaking Lucien's shoulders firmly. "Luccyyy," he hummed and kept shaking it. Lucien rolled his eyes and moved limply wherever he was moved. "Come on now, you can't ignore me."  _

 

_ "You're insufferable, but I'm certainly skilled enough to ignore you." Lucien said flatly, reaching for his headphones. But Molly grabbed them instead.  _

 

_ "Funny, so am I."  _

 

_ "Molly." Lucien said, spinning in his chair to glare up at his brother.  _

 

_ "There we go." Molly hummed and put the headphones around his neck for safekeeping.  _

 

_ Lucien rapidly tapped his nails against his knee. Molly knew it was a nervous tic; Lucien wasn't as difficult to read as people thought. You just had to look. He squared his shoulders and crossed his arms. "Do you need me for something?"  _

 

_ "Can't I just want talk to my-"  _

 

_ "Do you. Need me for something," Lucien repeated, actively avoiding any eye contact.  _

 

_ Molly crossed his arms and frowned, the perfect mirror image of the boy in front of him. "Well, if you're gonna be like that," he said. "I've been struggling with the homework. Give me a hand?"  _

 

_ Lucien closed his eyes and frowned, letting out a deep breath.  _

 

_ Molly stepped back. "If it's that big of a hassle -"  _

 

_ "No - stop," Lucien sighed, pulling at his hair then pushing his laptop aside. "Get your book and come here, c'mon."  _

 

_ Lucien walked over to his bed and sat crosslegged, gesturing at the spot next to him. With a grin Molly jumped into the spot and got comfortable. Lucien let out a long sigh but it didn’t do anything to detract from the wide smile crossing Molly’s face.  _

 

_ Lucien was still willing to give him attention, and this was the one spot where they were able to get along. So he had been convinced everything had to be okay.  _

 

_ They slowly worked through the problems listed out in Molly's notebook. Lucien was really quiet, but what else was new? Molly filled the silence between stupid science questions with chatter about his friends and about his day.  _

 

_ "Oh, by the way." Molly chewed at his pen, looking up at Lucien. "I'm going to have a group over tomorrow night. Tan and the rest. You're welcome to hang around at your desk if you like, but..."  _

 

_ Lucien tensed. Molly could feel it from where he was leaning against his brother's legs.  _

 

_ "What? Is it a problem?” Molly asked. “It's never been a problem before."  _

 

_ Lucien shook his head and closed his book, bringing it back to his desk. "No - of course not," he said softly, as he put his things back into his bag. "It's not like I'd want to sleep in my own room -"  _

 

_ Molly frowned and sat up, still spread across Lucien's bed. "Lucy, you're making a big deal out of nothing."  _

 

_ "I'm not making a big deal out of anything."  _

 

_ "Really? Because it seems to me like you're getting upset."  _

 

_ "I'm not -" Lucien had started to snap, but stopped himself, digging his nails into the desk. "I'm not upset. I just - fucking forgive me for hoping a night could go by where I could sleep in our room, or do anything, without you and your friends shoving me out."  _

 

_ "I'm not 'shoving you out' of anywhere! What's gotten into you?"  _

 

_ "Shut up -" Lucien snapped again. His voice cracked, freezing Molly in place. Lucien's back was still towards Molly, but he saw the way his shoulders shook and how he hunched over on himself. _

 

_ "Lucy -" Molly started, voice soft. Shit. Lucien didn’t turn away when they bickered. He always faced Molly head on with a sarcastic retort prepared. He’d never blocked Molly off, completely unwilling to even listen to a word he said, before. He started scrambling, realizing he had to do something to make this right, but everything was just moving too fast for him to even think.  _

  
  


_ "Shut up, Mollymauk!" Lucien raised his voice and packed a few final books, angrily wiping at his eyes as he did. He roughly pulled his bag closed, then slung it over his shoulder and stomped out of their room with the door swinging behind him.  _

 

_ "What are you doing?" Molly ran after him, but Lucien kept going.  _

 

_ "Well, I figured since you were after your own space I'd give it to you. It's long overdue that I go and take over the guest room," Lucien said as he continued towards the large empty room on the other side of their house.  _

 

_ Molly felt his heart go tight. He hadn't recognized it then, but it was the beginning of the end. They'd been arguing and growing apart for years, but for the first time, he could see the rift growing. "What do you mean it's overdue?" Molly called after him. "We - we're twins! We share a room! Get back here! Get back here, Lucien!"  _

 

_ The door had shut in his face and he spent another minute shouting at Lucien through it before their parents yelled at him to be quiet.  _

 

And that had been it. 

 

And the rift between the twins grew. They didn't see each other at school, and now they no longer had their few peaceful moments in their room. Whenever they saw each other, it was to argue. It was that way through high school, and it continued that way when they moved out into the place their parents got for them. 

 

So it surprised exactly no one when Molly started a physical fight in a Starbucks. Lucien was being an asshole, and had apparently been the reason Caleb couldn't so much as look at him without stammering and hiding. 

 

But still. Shoving him to the side - again - wasn't right. 

 

Mollymauk Tealeaf wasn't above admitting his mistakes. He'd fucked up then just as he had now. Royally fucked up. 

 

Though, just because he knew he’d fucked up, didn't mean he knew how to fix it. 

 

Contrary to popular belief, Molly didn't hate his brother. Things were complicated. And there were more days than not where he felt ready to throttle Lucien for something he’d said. But he never wanted to lose his brother - not really. 

 

When they were kids, what kept them connected was the fact that they shared a room. And when they lost that, Molly had clung to whatever was left. 

 

Lucien was his twin.

 

His _ identical  _ twin. 

 

And that was his tie to his brother. Even if they argued, shouted, and clawed each other across the face, they were still identical. And ironically - what split them apart was what he clung to now. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!! This chapter is long overdue and I'm soso sorry. This stupid chapter just went through around 8 drafts, 3 total rewrites, and almost didng happen at all because of a combo confidence issues/ I'm recovering from surgery ^^" But it's here! Thanks to some friends and the lovely Boness server <3 Who I can NOT ever thank enough. 
> 
> But uhh yeah! Next chapter will be back in Caleb's head- I just felt like it flowed better having this insight into Molly's head. And then after that BACK to Molly for one chapter, before back to our regularly schedueled Caleb Brain. 
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who commented!! Like seriously- they mean so much to me and really helped me want to keep writing this story instead of dopping it when i got aggrivated. <3 <3 
> 
> hmu on tumblr: @ tragedyboycentral


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Myri!! You're a saint who made this chapter Much More Readable <#

Molly and Caleb drove on, and traffic eventually lightened. When they got to town the storm looked like it had freshly hit. Molly drove them back towards the mall, fingers tapping increasing speed on the steering wheel the closer they got. It was far past just going with the music, they were like a woodpecker trying to dig a hole through the car and into the concrete.

 

"Mollymauk, are you all right?" Caleb asked softly, waching his hands twitch.

 

"What?" Molly asked, jumping then nodding quickly. "Of course, everything's just fine," He said and pulled into the mall parking lot. He chewed on his nail as he slowly pulled up to the front entrance.

 

Huddled pitifully under the small awning in front of the doors, shivering and soaked to the bone, was Lucien. His hair was glued to his face and neck, and as he lifted his head Caleb could see some of the makeup had been washed off to reveal the dark bruise still fresh on his cheek. But most notably, he saw Lucien was _seething._

 

Lucien stood up, clothes sticking to his skinny frame, as he stormed over to the car. Molly rolled down his window, expression completely unreadable.

 

"What the _fuck_ is your problem, Mollymauk?!" Lucien shouted, Molly going uncomfortably stiff. "I've been here for _hours_."

 

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lucien. Now come on- get in the back so I can get Caleb home."

 

Lucien let out a short laugh, angry and humorless. "You're joking, right? I'm not sitting in the back like a five year old."

 

"Well I'm not making Caleb sit in the back, he's a guest."

 

" _You_ sit in the back, idiot. I'll drive."

 

"You aren't driving, you're soaking!"

 

"AND WHY THE FUCK IS THAT, MOLLYMAUK!"

 

"It's not _my_ fault you didn't think to call an Uber!"

 

Lucien scowled further, leaning forwards. "You know I leave my wallet in our car. Our car which- in case you didn't notice- _you ran off with without warning_." he hissed. "Now I am done arguing this, Mollymauk. Get your ass into the back seat or so help me I will drag you back there."

 

"No." Molly said. Any stronger man would of crumbled under Lucien's unbridled anger, and Caleb had the feeling even Molly was tense. "What are you going to do, _cry_ about it?" Molly said, something underlying in his voice.

 

Lucien's jaw dropped  and he stood up straight. Okay- a line was crossed _somewhere_ between the twins. It might of been Molly's comment, or it might of been back when Molly had Caleb ignore the call for the first time. But Caleb was currently trapped in the crossfire and he would just get out and walk home if he didn't think it would make matters worse.

 

"I am going to sit in the back." Caleb announced, gathering up his bags.

 

Molly turned, as if just remembering Caleb was there. "What- no- you don't have to do that-"

 

“I am _going to sit in the back and I would like to go home now,”_ Caleb announced again, louder this time as he kept his head down and quickly scrambled into the back seat. As he sat down he could just make out Lucien glaring at Molly but circling the car, sitting in shotgun and slamming the door loudly.

 

Without a word, and without any music playing, Molly started driving. Caleb didn't know how Molly even knew his address but Molly was driving in the right direction so he didn't question it. He _couldn't_ question it if he wanted to. Caleb was not a strong enough man to cut through the palpable tense silence that filled the car. It wasn't the same silence in the cafe, where they could enjoy themselves and each other's presence. No. This silence was like a living hell, and he hated it.

 

He stared down at his lap until the practically visible rage from the front seats drew his gaze.

The twins were a perfect mirror image of each other, both soaked to the bone and glaring out the glass. Both were tapping their long nails on their door, almost in rhythm with each other. Now and then they'd glance at each other, but hurriedly look away the moment they made eye contact.

 

It was only in watching them that some of the endless questions he had about the Tealeaf's start to answer themselves. Their personalities were polar opposite, but they seemed to have more in common than they'd ever admit. And right now- this argument wasn't just one righteously angry at the other. No.

 

They were both being petulant assholes.

 

Caleb had a feeling that was the case whenever they were put in a room together.

 

At no point during the drive did any of them speak. And Molly had definitely been honest about being unable to drive in silence, because he repeatedly had to slam on the breaks or skid to the side to avoid a car. Every time Lucien grunted in annoyance or cursed under his breath, but nothing that came close to an actual conversation about what the fuck was going on with the two of them.

 

It felt like a decade before Molly pulled up in front of Caleb's apartment complex. Caleb pulled his bags into his arms and hurried out. "Have a nice night," he said, though he assumed neither would be enjoying themselves at all, running into the apartment.

 

He was trying to ignore the way he started shaking, ignore the fact he was narrowly skirting around a panic attack, as he pushed into the apartment and dropped the bags at the door. Nott was up and waiting, looking up from the couch.

 

"Caleb! How was the bookstore?" she asked, but frowned as soon as she saw him. "What happened?"

 

Caleb shook his head, walking past her. He busied himself by grabbing warm pajamas, the fabric and the weight of heavy PJs was comforting to him, and getting changed behind the bookshelf they used as a divider. "I am fine, just tired."

 

"Caleb, Caleb come out here." she said. "I know when you're upset."

 

He came out after he changed, the scarf still wrapped tightly around his neck for comfort. "Im fine."

 

"Caleb." she frowned, walking up to him. She gently grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I won't make you tell me, but you know it helps when you do."

 

He frowned, squeezing her hand back a few times absentmindedly. "It was nice," he started. "Very nice actually- the bookstore was quite nice and- wait...." he furrowed his brows, looking down at Nott. "How do you know we went to the bookstore?"

 

Nott flushed, shifting from side to side on her feet. "Not important- go on."

Caleb made a not to go back to that but continued. "I will come back to that. But- yes it was nice... But at the end we went to pick up Lucien, because apparently they share the car and Lucien had been sitting in the rain, and there was a _lot_ of yelling, and they glared at each other for the entire ride so it was as far from pleasant as it could of possibly been."

 

Nott sighed, squeezing his hands a few times again sympathetically. "Oh, Caleb." she said softly. "I'm so sorry... Let's just get to bed. It's been a long day," she offered and Caleb nodded. He really was exhausted. She lead him to bed and he curled up under the blankets, grabbing his weighted blanket and draping it over himself. She went back towards the couch but he just shook his head.

“Nott- we all know you end up sleeping here more often than not. Come on." he said, pushing onto his side.

 

"Are you sure? It's your bed."

 

"Nott, I am far too tired to argue right now. Come on," he said. She nodded and slipped onto her side, a warm presence as she curled up in a small ball by his side. "Now, you never did explain how you knew we were at the bookstore."

 

Nott coughed awkwardly, looking to the side and cooing at Frumpkin until he jumped on the bed. The cat curled up between the two of them and started purring loudly, letting Nott pet his head. "Well.... After you mentioned your date-"

 

"Not a date."

 

"After you mentioned your... whatever it is, I pulled a few string and got a few numbers. He asked me where to take you and- well- since he was taking the initiative to ask I told him you liked books! He ran the place by me and I approved," she explained quickly. "... I approve of him, you know."

 

Well that explained how Molly knew where he lived.

 

"Nott, there is nothing to approve. We are not dating- we are just friends."

 

Nott hummed softly. "All right, now go to bed."

 

* * *

 

 

Nott walked Caleb into work, stubbornly grabbing onto his arm and squeezing it when he tried to insist he was fine. He'd slept the night through thanks to the presence of both his friend and his cat, and so long as he didn't think too much about it he didn't feel drained from last night's near panic attack. But Nott wouldn't hear it; she was the most protective person he knew.

 

"Now, if anything happens you call me." Nott insisted, lurking as he clocked in. "We're staffed today so it won't be a problem if I leave for a minute."

 

"It won't be a problem. It's just work," Caleb insisted simply, but Nott just gave him a look.

 

"I'm serious. Call if you need me." she said, reaching up to squeeze his hand once more before sliding out and going to work. He watched her retreating back then pulled on his apron with a sigh. He was still tired- but he was all right.

 

The day went by smoothly, impressively so. He didn't have any drinks sent back, and didn't have anyone yelling at him for an expired coupon. It was actually nice. One of the days where tips were good and he remembered why he hadn't quit years ago. It had going so smoothly, and he was in such a calmed mindset that he didn't even panic as soon as Lucien walked in. No- his thought when the Molly’s twin walked in was very simple.

 

He'd gotten a haircut.

 

The sides were almost buzzed, and the only length was left at the top. Purple curls lifted up an inch or so above his forehead as opposed to falling around his face like it used to. It was an almost jarring change. Seeing him without the long curls that suited him so much was strange, especially since it now separated him visually from Molly. As nice as it looked on him, the shock took precedent.

 

"Caleb? Hello?" Lucien questioned, waving his hand in front of Caleb's face. Caleb jumped and stepped back.

 

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head. "I did not mean to- what can I get for you?" he cut himself off, figuring he should just get to the point. That worked better with Lucien normally.

 

Lucien opened his mouth to speak then stopped, hiding his face in the crook of his arm as he coughed for a solid minute. After the coughing fit dies down he lifted his head and groaned, scratching his nose. "Just a green tea, no sugar or milk or anything." he ordered simple, rubbing his temples.

 

" _Ja,_ " Caleb nodded and started making the drink without another word. He pulled the tea together, trying to ignore the eyes that were most definitely staring at his back. There wasn't even any shame in it, when he glanced up he saw Lucien directly staring at him. Was he... mad? Lucien was definitely sick, there were bags under his eyes and he kept coughing. Did he blame Caleb for being left in the rain? He really couldn't read the situation- reading people was difficult. People were hard.

 

Caleb passed the drink over and Lucien sneezed then took it, sighing and running a hand through his hair. He paused, still just staring at Caleb, then he sighed again. "Caleb." he said softly. "Sorry."

 

Caleb froze, blinking slowly. "What?"

 

Lucien frowned, chewing the tip of his nail. "It's not your fault Molly was being an unfeeling asshole. Sorry you got caught in the crossfire," he said slowly, as though it was something he rehearsed. He probably had. "And... I'm sorry about the day of the fist fight. Not just for the first fight- that was more Molly's fight than it was mine- but I was... sort of a prick that morning. I was in a mood and you got stuck dealing with the worst of it. So. Sorry."

 

Oh.

 

This was, without a doubt, the last thing he expected to ever hear.

 

His shock must of been clear on his face because Lucien shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not... good at these. Apologies. They're hard."

 

Caleb forced himself to nod a few times, realizing his silence may be making things worse. "Oh- well. Yes. I understand." he said. "Um- I accept your apology? I... honestly I do not blame you for being annoyed when we picked you up, though you were a dick whenever you ordered."

 

"Yes- I've been told." Lucien sneezed again, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um- I should go. I've got a double today," he waved awkwardly then turned and left towards Sephora, sipping at his drink as he left.

 

Maybe one day Caleb would get a day where the Tealeaf twins weren't constantly confusing and surprising him, but apparently today wasn't going to be that day.

 

He shook his head and tried to get back to work, glancing over at the clock now and then and wishing for the shift to just be over already. The sooner the shift was over meant the sooner he could take his paycheck and leave. He was long overdue for a night in with a book and, more importantly, no panic attacks.

 

The shift went by calmly enough after that, the pleasant pace continuing. He was able to get into a rhythm and stay out of his head. Take the order, call it out, and pass the cup. Repeat. A simple enough pattern.

 

It went on until nearly the end of his shift, thank the gods he wasn't closing for once, when Molly came in for the day. When Caleb looked up he was just suddenly there. For a man so loud he  could move eerily quiet sometimes. Mollymauk pushed his curls back, looking tired.

 

"Afternoon, Caleb," he greeted, leaning lazily against the counter without any posing or grandeur. "Do you have a minute by any chance?"

 

Caleb tensed, standing up straight. This was the equivalent of 'can we talk'. Was this a break up line? No that didn't make sense, they weren't even dating. Caleb's anxiety really didn't take well to vague statements like this. Nott usually knew to preface any statements like that with clarification, if stopped him from getting to deep into his own head with anxiety.

 

"Um... I-well- I will in..." Caleb glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Two minutes?"

 

"Perfect," Molly nodded. "All right, well could I use up your last two minutes? I need a green tea, no milk or anything just make it as bitter as possible."

 

Caleb nodded, going to make the drink and trying to ignore the anxious spiral his brain continued to make. Molly didn't seem angry per say, but he also seemed a lot less bright and flirty than normal? Caleb totally didn't miss it- why would he miss it? Never. So he had no reason to miss him if Molly had decided Caleb wasn't worth it after hanging out with him properly.

 

"This is- uh- well it is much more bitter than you normally order?" he commented awkwardly, trying to start a conversation and better read Molly.

 

"That would be because it isn't for me." he said. "I couldn't stomach this if I tried,"

 

Caleb glanced over, but just ducked his head down to focus on the drink again. Then two minutes later, right on the dot, Molly had his drink in hand and Caleb was clocking out with his bag over his shoulder. He walked over to where Molly was waiting in the corner, rocking back and forth on his heels.

 

"Is-um- is everything all right? Is something wrong?" Caleb asked immediately.

 

Molly nodded, tapping his nails on the side of the cup sleeve. "Funny- you see I had the same question." he continued rapidly moving his fingers. "I don't have long- I have to go before this drink gets cold. But I just wanted to make sure you were okay after last night? I know that it got a little overwhelming there with me and Lucy."

 

A noticeable weight lifted off Caleb's shoulder. Molly didn't hate him- this wasn't about something bad Caleb had done. Thank god.

 

"Oh- um. Well, I am fine." he said awkwardly. "I'll admit that it was... quite overwhelming. But I rested, and I am currently fine."

 

"Good- good," Molly smiled softly. "You know I was worried there for a minute."

 

"About what?"

 

"You know," he made a few vague hand gestures. "You might of wanted nothing to do with me afterwards and well, frankly, that'd be a big loss. I like you." Caleb blushed lightly, starting to stammer when Molly thankfully started speaking again. "Don't worry, I won't make you talk about it now. But I do like you, and since you don't believe me I figure I ought to be as open about it as possible."

 

Caleb was still blushing pink, eyes jumping to look at absolutely anything that wasn't Molly's face. "Oh," was all he could force out. The idea that Molly _liked_ him was still wild.

 

Molly smiled. "Oh indeed," he agreed. "Now, as much as I would rather continue talking to you I really should be going. This is getting cold."

 

"And where- uh- where would you be bringing the drink too?" Caleb asked before he thought about it, stepping towards Molly as he began leaving.

 

Molly frowned, and if Caleb didn't know any better he would say Molly was hunching himself over in embarrassment. "I- well... you see..." he started off a few times, gesturing with his hands as he thought. "I made a mistake yesterday. A big one. I was annoyed with Lucy and perhaps I took things a bit too far... because he's currently sick as a dog but still working a double and it's all my fault. So I wanted to get him tea to- you know. Help his throat and all. I tend to speak with gifts and he knows that."

 

"Ah, that does make sense." Caleb nodded carefully. "Well- I do hope it works? When Nott and I have arguments, though I'll admit they are rare, it is important for us that we make up."

 

Molly moved the drink between his hands. "You and me both. We've had fights before, we really don't have the closest relationship anymore..." he shook his head, as if cutting himself off. "Never mind, I won't bore you with that stuff. We'll sort it out." He took a deep breath then suddenly put on his brightest smile. "I'll talk to you later, maybe we can figure out another date-not-date." Molly gave Caleb a quick wink before leaving the store.

 

Caleb watched Molly leave. He could of just gone on with with his life, gone home early and spent the night with one of his new books until Nott came home as he planned. But for some reason, he didn't. No, instead of going home to somewhere calm he decided to follow Molly.

 

Caleb trailed after Molly, but he seemed to wrapped up in his head to even notice, just walking as slowly as possible to get to Sephora. He looped around the fountain once before Caleb saw him take a deep breath and walk into the store. Caleb slipped inside, sitting by the doorway to watch.

 

Molly walked up to one of the employees, waving her down. "Hi, darling. Does Lucien have a moment, per chance? I wanted to talk to him."

 

The girl nodded, glancing back. "Yeah- I think he's out back right now? I'll let him know you're here."

 

"Much appreciated, thank you," Molly said as the girl turned and walked off.  

 

Caleb watched as Molly shifted, too filled with energy to just sit and wait. After no more than thirty seconds he started walking around the store, trying to distract himself by looking at the lipsticks and juggling to test them out while still holding the tea securely. Caleb was fairly certain that he noticed the back door opening and Lucien walking out before Molly did. Molly was too busy staring at two different shades of purple.

 

Lucien seemed even more exhausted than he did in the morning, letting out a yawn that turned into a cough halfway through. Caleb noticed Molly tense, shoulders squaring. He took a few deep breaths and for the first time since Caleb had met Molly, he seemed completely out of his element. He kept his eyes trained downwards as Lucien approached. Caleb stepped further to the side, hiding behind an array of eyeshadows.   


“You needed me, Mollymauk?" Lucien said, voice clipped.

 

Molly jumped hearing his voice. "Yes, actually. I got you something-" He took a deep breath then raised his head, turning to face Lucien.

 

And then he froze.

 

Molly looked like he saw a ghost. Every muscle in his body tensed and he was shaking ever so slightly. It reminded Caleb of a child who just realized they'd gotten lost in the mall.

 

"What did you do?" he asked in a small voice.

 

Lucien let them sit in a pregnant pause. His eyes dropped down to the tea in Molly's hand and he frowned, nails rapping against his leg. But then he let out a breath and smiled. "Oh, this?" He gestured towards his haircut, drawing extra attention to the buzzed parts. "Kree did it for me this morning. It's nice, isn't it? Honestly it's long overdue."

 

The hand at Molly's side balled into a shaking fist as he trembled, staring at Lucien with so many emotions Caleb couldn't begin to read them. "How- what do you mean it's _overdue_?" he spat, voice breaking.

 

"Do you not like it?"

 

Molly closed his eyes and shook his head, throwing both his hands down. The tea crashed into the floor, breaking and spilling everywhere. The hot tea covered and no doubt scalded both their legs on the way down but he didn't even react. He was just glaring at Lucien.

 

"Mollymauk-!"

 

"Don't! Not another word. Don't _speak t_ o me." Molly said forcefully, "We're _twins_ and you-! You just took that away! Without a second fucking thought! I don't even want to _look_ at you right now." To punctuate his sentence Molly turned on his heel and stormed off of the store, leaving a group of shocked customers in his wake. He brushed past Caleb but only paused briefly, realizing he’d seen everything fall apart, before continuing on.

A few workers were running around, getting a mop or a first aid kit. But Lucien just stayed standing there. He watched Molly's retreating back, his smile dropping into a scowl, then a defeated frown.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am,,,, genuinely so grateful and so in love withe everyone who dropped a kudos or a comment last chapter. Ganna be honest I was kind of terrified- I wasn't sure if people would like the detour to explain more of Lucien before continuing on- so I genuinely T R E A S U R E every comment ;;-;; Like seriously there are not WORDS. 
> 
> Next chapter will be Part 2 of this first Molly Interlude ( cuz there will probably be another one in the future) then we'll be back to Regularly Scheduled Caleb Programming. Soo, yeah! Thank you so sososo much to everyone who reads this <3 <3 
> 
> tiny note: yeah Lucy keeps his wallet in the car. I have more ReasonTM behind it that may or may not get involved in the story ( I got,,, a LOT for Lucy) but the short version is he lost/got his wallet stolen at work so he keeps it in the glove compartment. cuz if someone steals their car he has much bigger problems then a missing five dollar bill. 
> 
> hmu on tumblr @ tragedyboycentral


	6. Molly Interlude I: Part 2.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short, Unedited, and cuts off abruptly. It's not what I wanted it to be and I'll chat more in the end notes. if you read Sweet Tooth it's pretty much the same thing I said there

Molly didn't know if he wanted to cry or punch something or something in between.

  
The logical part of his brain told him nothing important happened. There was nothing to be upset about- hell he should be _happy_ because this meant that Caleb couldn't accidentally mistake Lucien for him. No one would.

  
However, Molly didn't give a _shit_ about logic right now. Why should he when it felt like his brother was gone.

  
The last thing Molly had to cling onto, the last hope maybe they'd settle things despite Molly putting little actual effort into bridging the gap, was that they were _identical twins_. And that meant they couldn't hate each other. Even if Lucien threw back as much venom as Molly did Lucy couldn't truly despise him because that wasn't what twins did.   
But now, it felt like Lucien had actively thrown that away. He'd taken the one thing Molly clung to and threw it back at his face.

  
Molly's leg burnt. After Sephora was safely in the distance he cursed, bee lining to a bathroom and stripping off his pants without a second thought. Tossing the pants over the hand dryer he swiftly kicked his leg up over the sink and put his burnt thigh under the cold water. If he was any less flexible this would hurt like hell, but dancers flexibility had its perks.

  
The freezing water felt nice against the burn, and it forced him to focus on something other than his own thoughts. He hummed, splashing cold water down where the tea had splattered.

  
"Mollymauk, are you all right?"

  
Molly looked over towards the source of the soft voice, surprised to see Caleb lurking in the doorway. They made eye contact then Caleb glanced down, blushing darkly and making a series of small choked sounds. "I-um-you-"

  
"I'm going to be perfectly honest. I was in my own head and _completely_ forgot I was in a public bathroom." Molly said simply, remembering he was here in nothing but his button down and his briefs.

  
"I can see that-" Caleb said quickly, still staring decidedly at the ground.

  
A small piece of Molly felt bad that Caleb was so flustered right now. Another part was proud, but he also felt bad. Though it's not like he could really help it. If he didn't want the burn to get worse he had to get something cold on it _somehow_. It was honestly just bad luck that the only available method involved displaying his crotch to the very cute and frazzled barista.

  
"Well- I'm going to be here for awhile. Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Molly asked.

  
Caleb wrung his hands in front of him and started shifting from side to side. "It is not that I wanted to talk about something as much as it is I wanted to check if you were okay? You- well-" Caleb gestured at all of him.

  
"That... that's fair." Molly started pulling at his hair with one hand and tapping his nails with the other.

  
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it-"

  
"No no it's not that." Molly waved a hand and groaned. This wasn't a conversation he wanted to have at all, and especially not in this position. But it would be easier to talk to Caleb than Lucy.

  
"Then.. may I ask that it is?"

  
"It's.. Lucy- Lucien." Molly started and groaned, because it was definitely Lucien right now. Not his brother Lucy, it was pain in the ass _Lucien_. The swirl of unsettled emotions started rising in his chest yet again. "To put it simply he's being a dick. He can't- he can't do that! He didn't even ask me!"

  
Caleb had finally forced his eyes up from the floor. He was looking pointedly above Molly's shoulders, staring at his face with gears clearly turning in his head. It was charming.

  
"Mollymauk, it is just a haircut, no?" Caleb asked carefully and Molly made a face.

  
"It's the _intention_ behind the thing, Caleb. He knew it would piss me off." Molly said angrily, knotting a curl around his finger. "You know- he tried to do this awhile ago..." he laughed bitterly and shook his head. "We both went to dye out hair on the same day, when we came out of the bathroom and realized the other had done the same - down tot he same brand and shade- we were  _pissed_... Shouted day and night, but a part of me was a bit glad. We were still twins, still brothers. But now- now it's like he's just some random roommate." Molly ranted, throwing his arms down. 

Caleb just listened along and nodded. " _Ja, ja._ " he said softly.

  
Molly groaned and winced as he pulled a strand of hair out. "Whatever- all right. That's out of my system. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to go off on you."

  
Caleb shook his head. _"Nein_ , that is quite all right. I did ask you for a reason." he said. Caleb hadn't left the doorway but Molly had the feeling he was still invested in what Molly was saying. People seemed to think that Molly and Lucien had an interesting relationship. Yasha always took an interest in Molly's stories but he assumed that was just because Yasha was his best friend and always listened when he talked.

  
The two of them fell into an awkward silence, and Molly was pleased Caleb was the one to break it. Hopefully Caleb starting conversations meant he was getting comfortable around him. "Can I get you anything? Um- a bandaid? Or perhaps new pants?"

  
Molly laughed bitterly and stretched. "If you wouldn't mind, could you maybe get Jester for me? I'm assuming you know her."

  
Caleb nodded. " _Ja_? I do? She worked with me for about a week before disappearing."

  
Molly chuckled, smiling faintly. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I think she's back at Dollar Kingdom right now? She'll have a first aid kit, and if she see's me like this maybe I'll have to beg less for a ride home."

  
"You don't have your car?" Caleb asked, tilting his head.

  
Molly shook his head and scowled. "No- she's parked where she always is but I'm not dealing with that right now. The last thing I want is to sit in a car with him."

  
"Ahh," Caleb nodded in understanding. "All right- then I suppose I'll go find Jester for you." he said and slipped out of the bathroom.

  
Left alone, Molly groaned and went back to pulling at his hair. When he fantasized about Caleb doing him a favor as he was pants-less and wet in a bathroom, it was _much_ different than this.

  
He didn't want Caleb to get wrapped up in his family's bullshit, but he supposed that it was inevitable. Molly was still completely and utterly head over heels for Caleb - so it truly was a shame Caleb seemed incapable of accepting that fact. Molly didn't know when the crush even began. He just looked up one day and realized he wanted to make Caleb smile. Simple as that.

  
And sadly, if he actually succeeded in sweeping Caleb off his feet, that meant eventually he'd come home and run face first into their issues. So maybe sooner was better than later.

  
 _Gods_ this sucked.

  
He just wanted to go on a date! Almost everything about yesterday had been perfect from the bookstore to the drive, hell even the rain gave him an excuse to hold Caleb under the umbrella. Everything went better than expected but Molly's own pettiness fucked it up. And now _Lucien's brattiness_ just made things worse.

  
The doors suddenly crashed open and Molly jumped, cursing when his thigh whacked into the faucet.

  
"Molly! Molly are you _okay_? Caleb told me what happened-" Jester shouted as she ran in. She was wearing a bright green apron- though the color was barely visible underneath all the stickers covering it.

  
"Jester-" Caleb trailed behind her, once again stopping just inside the door. "I told her I would get you from the bathroom but she didn't care-"

  
"Why would I care? It's just some stupid sign on a door, and Molly's more important than if I see some random dude's junk." She said and took out a first aid kid, opening it on the other sink and digging through it. "Does this hurt, Molly?" eh asked, pressing her fingers against the burn without looking up from the box.

  
"OW! Yes- yes that fucking hurts!" Molly cursed and wretched her hand away. She just hummed.

  
"Are you sure Jester was the best person?" Caleb asked softly- causing Jester to make a loud indignant sound.

  
"I know _exactly_ what I'm doing!" she protested.

  
"She's right. She's good at this- it's not the first time she's patched me up." Molly said, glancing over as Jester finally found what she was looking for in the first aid kit.

  
" _Exactly!_ Listen to Molly- he's smart." she said and started looking at his thigh again. "You did a good job getting it under the water! It just needs to get a litttllee less red and I can put the cream on it. If I put it on any earlier it'll just trap the heat and make it _wayyyy_ worse." she continued dramatically, pushing his thigh back right under the stream.

  
"Will it be all right?" Caleb asked softly and Jester nodded.

  
"Yes, he will be _perfectly_ okay. Though it is pretty _stupid_ that it happened to begin with. What were you thinking, pouring tea all down yourself?? You don't even _drink_ tea!"

  
"It's not _my_ fault!" Molly protested, glancing up when he heard a disapproving grunt from the doorway.

  
Beau had appeared in the doorway- because apparently everyone was here to laugh at his pain- behind a very startled looking Caleb. Caleb jumped to the side, leaving room for Beau to stride into the mens bathroom without a care.

  
"That's what you always say." Beau said flatly.

  
"Well it _wasn't!_ If _Lucien_ wasn't an _asshole_ I wouldn't of-" Molly started to loudly protest but Jester gripped his shoulders.

  
" _Stop moving!_ Keep the burn under the water!" She exclaimed.

  
"She is right. The longer you keep it under the water the better it will heal." Caleb said. He was still keeping to the walls but at least he wasn't hiding in the doorway anymore. Molly had a feeling he was just really trying to avoid the fact he was pantsless.

  
"See! I'm right!"

  
Molly groaned and dropped his head against the gross bathroom wall, too done with everything to care. His emotions kept jumping and he hated it. He wanted to be angry. Lash out at whoever was there and ideally at Lucien. But then it dropped to just numbness and exhaustion. The worst was when grief crept in- the grief that he could be loosing his brother for good. But he shoved that aside. Annoyance was good. Annoyance was easy.

  
The bathroom went quiet with the exception of Jester's chatter as he kept cooling his leg. Finally she took a cream and gently applied it over the burn, saying something about disinfectant as she did, before wrapping it securely in a bandage.

  
"There! That should keep it clean and not infected until you get home. Don't take off the bandages until tomorrow though! And _please_ don't jerk off or something, I don't know if your cum getting in the bandages will make it worse." Jester said without any reservations. "That's doctors orders!"

  
Caleb made a choking sound, doubling over as Beau whacked him on the back a few times.

  
"Noted." Molly said with a nod, keeping an eye on the vibrant shade of red that Caleb was turning. Gods it was pretty.

  
"I'm _serious,_ Molly!" Jester giggled and flicked him in the arm.

  
"I know, I know." Molly waved a hand to the side.

  
"Good," Jester stepped back and put her first aid kit back inside of her bright pink bag. "Now, normally I'd make you beg for a ride home because it is really really fun. But! Because Lucien is being a _big stinky jerk_ , and since getting on your knees would _really hurt_ right now, I won't make you beg!"

  
Molly swung his leg off the sink, rocking to try and get circulation going properly again. He smiled and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gratefully. "Jester, you are an angel that walks amoungst mortals."

  
"I know!" Jester giggled happily. "So! I am going to drop by the pastry shop, but afterwards I am ready to leave _whenever_ you like!"

  
"Shouldn't you be at, I don't know, work?" Beau quipped and Jester shrugged.

  
" _Welllll_ I have the rest of the day off because I got _fired._ " Jester puffed out her cheeks. Beau started to speak up at the same time Molly did. He didn't want her to get fired, he could of taken care of the burn if he had too. But before he could really feel like a dick Jester held a finger up. "It'll be fine! I can just walk in tomorrow and they won't even notice - I've done it before."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. the chapter cut off abruptly because that is currently Everything i have written at the moment and there was nowhere to cut it earlier. I wanted this chapter to be earlier, it was supposed to encompass the entirety of this as well as Molly and Lucien getting home to go a bit mor einto thei rrelationship, but just. After the last episode of Critical Role I'm sorry to say I have to take a bit of a hiatus from this fic. I've just been Constantly Sick (like im sick as hell as i write this rn) and that combined with the fact I really can't think about molly for too long without Crying just means I need a bit more time before writing. 
> 
> I don't plan to abandon this fic! Not at all. So long as people still want to read it when I return I will DEFINITELY continue writing it. I just think, since it took me this long to even format this chapter, it might be best that I take a week or i dunno, sometime off to be more mentally stable. 
> 
> Thank you sososososso much to everyone who left comments and kudos on this fic <3 And I hope to see you when I'm ready to write more. (because REALLY i have so much planned for this fic i wont abandon it )


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